Key findings from the report show that the manufacturing, healthcare and finance industries all saw an increase in attacks globally (300 per cent, 200 per cent and 53 per cent respectively), with these sectors accounting for a combined total of 62 per cent of all attacks. Manufacturing was the most targeted industry in the UK and Ireland, accounting for 80 per cent of attacks in 2020.
Application-specific and web-application attacks were also shown to spike at 90 per cent of all attacks in the UK and Ireland, the highest rate of any country analysed and 23 per cent higher than the global average.
“Last year we predicted a surge in targeted, opportunistic attacks and unfortunately, this has proven all too true,” said Kazu Yozawa, CEO of NTT’s security division. “While these industries have done their best to maintain essential services throughout disruptive times, the fall in security standards when companies need them most is alarming.”
The report also showed that cryptominers have replaced spyware as the most common malware in the world, accounting for 41 per cent of all detected malware in 2020 globally. Worms appeared most frequently in the finance and manufacturing sectors, healthcare was most impacted by remote access trojans, and the technology industry was targeted by ransomware.
Mark Thomas, leader of NTT’s Global Threat Intelligence Center said: “On one hand, you have threat actors taking advantage of a global disaster, and on the other, cybercriminals capitalising on unprecedented market booms. The common thread throughout both of these situations is unpredictability and risk.”
Thomas added that whilst attacks were ‘bound to happen’ due to changes in operating models and adoption of new technologies globally, organisations and individuals should prioritise cybersecurity across all industries including the supply chain as we enter a more stable phase of the pandemic.