New cyberthreat statistics from a British internet service provider revealed that the average U.K. business experienced 600 data breach attempts a day between January and March of this year.
According to a recent Beaming report, the volume of cyberattacks in the first quarter of 2018 rose by 27 percent and the volume of attacks originating in Europe more than doubled in March. The report also found that 54 percent of attacks were aimed at Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as security cameras and building control systems.
Cyberattacks on the Rise in the UK
The researchers noted that for the first time, the volume of attacks based in Europe (44 percent) and targeting the U.K. surpassed the volume of such incidents originating from Asia. The Czech Republic accounted for 35 percent of attacks and Russian sources accounted for 12 percent.
While IoT-related incidents are on the rise, the study suggested that many cybercriminals infiltrated devices as a means to conduct more complicated maneuvers later, such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Databases where another major target, accounting for roughly 1 in 10 attacks, according to the report.
Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming, said that the volume and increased sophistication of cyberattacks has forced the company to improve the way it protects its network on an ongoing basis. Other organizations must do the same.
“It is important that businesses of all sizes regularly review their cybersecurity measures, monitor their IT systems and communication networks for unusual activity, and take all the help they can get to stay ahead of the criminals,” she said.
More Attacks to Come in 2018
A recent study from the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) showed a similar rise in attacks against IoT devices and other forms of malicious activity.
Although it didn’t cover the first quarter of 2018, the NCSC reported 34 significant cybersecurity incidents that required some kind of cross-government response between the time the organization was founded in October 2016 and the end of last year. It also reported 762 additional incidents that were less serious or affected a single organization. 2018 will likely bring even more of these attacks.