According to new studies from Check Point, cyberattacks on companies are on the rise in 2025, with international organizations experiencing an average of 1,925 situations per week in Q1, a 47 % increase over the same time last year.
The hardest hit industry was the education industry, with 4,484 regular attacks on average per university. Following that, the first experienced the largest year-over-year increase, rising to 94 %, in the fields of government and telecommunications.
These crucial system industries are prime targets for cyber criminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities, according to the researchers in a media release. These industries are increasingly dependent on digital equipment, coupled with their public-facing character.
According to experts in computer safety, the rise is attributed to more organized criminal activity. Ransomware and another cyberattacks have increased significantly as a result of the company’s change, according to David Ratner, the CEO of the risk intelligence agency HYAS, in an email.
It is now run as a legitimate business, where crooks create equipment that they sell to another criminals, making it simpler and less expensive for non-experts to build malware, malware, and other attacks. ”
According to Ben Hartwig, a data protection specialist with Infotracer, the majority of attacks were greedy ten years ago. They are currently run like businesses. Organized organizations sabotage supply chains, rural work environments, and unpatched business program.
Our staff has seen a change from standard phishing to highly qualified access brokers who are experts in breaking into particular industries like healthcare and education. The prevalence of ransomware-as-a-service types has also significantly lowered the entry barrier for bad actors. ”
Notice: TechRepublic Premium’s Quick Glossary on Cybersecurity Attack Reaction and Mitigation.
2,289 ransomware attacks were reported in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 12 % over the same period in 2024. In the UK only, there have been a number of well-known ransomware attacks in 2024 and 2025, including those targeting supermarket chains Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and M&& The disruption of NHS businesses was caused by S and Co-op, Legal Aid Agency, and disease provider Synnovis.
Based on its global risk intelligence network, which includes several additional feeds that are scanned daily and monitors 150,000 networks and millions of endpoint devices, Check Point’s findings are based on its findings.
Cyber thieves use your AI and yours for problems.
Additionally, researchers point to the increasing availability of artificial intelligence tools as a major contributor to the boom. “Entry-level adversaries no longer need to create achievements; Through Telegram channels or dark internet forums, they can buy pre-packaged access or perhaps rent access to affected environments, according to Hartwig. Problems that are beyond the defenses of the majority of small to mid-sized companies have been made possible by this commoditisation. ”
According to research, many of today’s readily available AI bots, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, may be manipulated to produce hazardous content using prompt-based attacks. On underwater communities, there are also jailbroken variations of WormGPT and GhostGPT that are frequently offered for little or no cost.
According to a new report from Europol, organized crime gangs in Europe are using AI to defraud, steal files, and launder money. These actions come in addition to more well-known threats like deepfakes impersonating top executives and AI-generated malware, automated ransom, and other known threats.
Experts warn that using AI to improve performance while many companies are willing to do so could lead to new risks. In accordance with a study by insurer QBE, 56 % of UK businesses that were affected by cyberattacks last year claimed to be related to third-party manufacturers, including AI services.
Unintentionally deceiving programmers into getting malicious code is a growing trend, such as exploiting AI programming tools like GitHub Copilot or ChatGP, which sometimes hallucinate non-existent program packages.
Even the most effective domestic security procedures can fail if vulnerabilities exist within their supply chains, according to David Warr, QBE Insurance Portfolio Manager for Cyber, in a media transfer. It is crucial for organizations to evaluate and secure their whole That ecosystem, including third-party partners. ”
