Over the last couple of years, businesses have been working overtime to gain an edge amid rapid technological change. However, businesses are not the only ones working their fingers to the bone. Cybercriminals worldwide are undoubtedly working extra hard to capitalize on this paradigm shift. Indeed, they are potentially exploiting every technical vulnerability as and when they crop up.

Within a month after the digital world discovered the Log4J vulnerability – one of the most severe security flaws on the internet, the cybercriminals successfully launched millions of attacks per hour attempting to exploit the newly uncovered glitch.

According to a recent report by Check Point Research (CPR) report, the number of cyberattacks per week on corporate networks increased 50 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, peaking at an all-time high in December due to a frenzy of Log4j exploits. The cyberattacks per week reached 925 per organization in the last month, with Log4Shell vulnerability as a major contributor.

Even before the easily exploited Log4Shell vulnerabilities cropped up, CPR reported a 40% increase in the number of cyber attacks in 2021 globally as of October. The researchers found that 1 in every 61 organizations worldwide has been impacted by ransomware attacks each week.

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Education & Research Sector in Hot Water

Contrary to the trending opinion that IT businesses are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks, the researchers discovered that education/research was the most susceptible sector in 2021.

As per the report, the education and research sector experienced the highest volume of attacks last year. The sector witnessed 1,605 attacks per organization every week, up by 75% from 2020. Next comes the government/military sector, which experienced 1,136 attacks per week, up by 47% from 2020. It is followed by the communications industry, which witnessed 1,079 attacks per organization every week, showing an uptick of 51% from the previous year.

Though Africa Suffers More Attacks, North America Sees the Highest Uptick

With over 1,582 cyberattacks per organization every week, Africa witnessed the highest volume of attacks in 2021. The region has seen a 13% uptick in cyberattacks from 2020.

APAC region stood second with an average of 1,353 weekly attacks per organization in 2021, a 25% increase from 2020. It is followed by Latin America with a weekly average of 1,118 attacks, Europe with 670 weekly attacks, and North America with a weekly average of 503 attacks per organization.

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Though North America stood last with only 503 attacks per organization every week, it witnessed the highest surge in the number of cyber attacks in 2021. It increased by 61% from 2020.

How Can Businesses Stave off the Next Cyber Pandemic?

There’s no escaping the fact that the pandemic has created an almost ideal environment for cyber threats to flourish. And the upward trend in cyberattacks is going to accelerate even more in the years ahead. So, how can organizations weather out this cybercrime’s perfect storm?

Organizations must become agile and adaptable to the speed and volatility of evolving cyberthreats. They are ought to unshackle themselves from the clutches of legacy technologies and embrace new capabilities such as Zero Trust, MFA verification, and passwordless authentication.

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These robust capabilities enable organizations to bolster preparedness, increase the speed of responses, and improve recovery. However, it can be arduous for organizations to act alone on cybersecurity challenges. Seeking services of Managed Security Services Providers like StealthLabs is essential.

Based out in Texas, StealthLabs is one of the leading information security services and solutions catering to the security needs of various US businesses, including Fortune 500 companies.

Our collaboration helps you pool insights and intelligence, share skills and capabilities, and find innovative ways to stay ahead of the threats. With our cybersecurity experts at your disposal, you are better informed and aware of threats to proactively identify and prevent them.

Let’s join forces and counter this growing threat.

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