Cybersecurity firm CheckPoint reported that 2021 was a record year for cyberattacks and the Log4J vulnerability only made matters worse.
CheckPoint Research released new data showing that the number of weekly cyberattacks on corporate networks among its customers rose dramatically in 2021 compared to 2020.
“Last year, we saw a staggering 50% more cyber attacks per week on corporate networks compared to 2020 – that’s a significant increase. We saw cyberattack numbers peak towards the end of the year, largely due to the Log4J vulnerability exploit attempts,” said Omer Dembinsky, data research manager at Check Point Software.
Check Point said the total number of weekly attacks on corporate networks increased by 50% in 2021 compared to 2020, and the number of weekly cyberattacks per organization reached an all-time high of 925 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Check Point’s education and research sectors had an average of 1,605 attacks per week, the highest recorded attack volume. This was a 75% increase compared to 2020. The government, defense, military and communications industries recorded an average of 1,100 attacks per week.
On a regional basis, Africa recorded the highest number of attacks in 2021, averaging 1,582 weekly attacks per organization. Not far behind is the APAC region, which recorded an average of 1,353 weekly attacks per organization. Latin America had 1,118 attacks per week and Europe 670 attacks per week. North America was at the bottom of the list with a weekly average of 503 attacks.
Dembinsky predicts that these numbers will continue to rise in 2022 as hackers “continue to innovate and find new methods to execute cyberattacks, especially ransomware.”
For more information read the original story from ZDNet.