India Fifth Most Attacked Country By Cyber Criminals: BlackBerry Report
Threat intelligence report shows 70% increase in novel malware attacks.
India was the fifth most targeted country by cyberattacks, according to BlackBerry's latest Quarterly Global Threat Intelligence Report.
The report said India is facing a surge in cybercrime, with technology centres such as Bengaluru and Gurugram becoming an attractive target for cyber criminals seeking valuable data or financial gains.
The report revealed a 70% increase in new malware encountered by BlackBerry's artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity solutions. At 26 cyberattacks per minute, this highlights a diversification of tools and attacks by threat actors as they target high-stakes or financially lucrative industries.
According to the report, Cylance AI—BlackBerry's predictive cybersecurity solution—prevented the most cyberattacks overall in the US, followed by Canada, Japan, Peru and India. India's share of the number of global cyberattacks stopped was 6%.
The most unique malware was observed in the US, Japan, South Korea, India and Canada, with India recording 7% of the global unique malware hashes.
Highlights from the report, covering the June–August quarter, include:
Continued Rise In Cyberattacks Per Minute: BlackBerry stopped over 3.3 million attacks; approximately 26 attacks and 2.9 unique malware samples per minute.
Financial And Healthcare Most Targeted Industries: The financial sector was the most frequently attacked industry in the quarter, with healthcare institutions coming in second. The sectors are a prime target due to their high-value data and the potential to disrupt essential services.
Increasing Threat To Government/Public Entities: Government and critical infrastructure were the other most targeted industries by cyber criminals. There was an increase of around 50% in attacks against the government sector over the last quarter.
Australia, US See Highest Increase In Public-Sector Attacks: Australia and the US experienced over 50% more public-sector attacks this quarter.
Ransomware Groups Make Double Extortion Standard Practice: LockBit, Cl0p, Cuba and ALPHV ransomware groups increasingly used double extortion tactics as insurance on attacks, as organisations worldwide improved their data backup strategies.
"Malicious actors are working harder than ever to expand their range and volume of cyberattacks," Ismael Valenzuela, vice-president of threat research and intelligence, BlackBerry, said. "The intensifying number of novel attacks targeting nations and industries demonstrates the impact of the macroeconomic climate on cybersecurity."