According to Check Point’s 2022 Mid-Year Report, of all industry sectors, the healthcare sector experienced the largest percentage increase in cyberattacks, rising by 69 percent in 1H 2022 compared to 2021. In terms of the amount of weekly attacks, healthcare is currently ranked fifth, behind communications, ISP/MSP, government/military, and education. In the report, Check Point explains that 2022 has shown that cyberattacks has been firmly established as a state-level weapon, with the first half of the year witnessing an unprecedented rise in state-sponsored attacks due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as a significant increase in hacktivism – the recruitment of ordinary people for a “IT Army” for conducting attacks. Checkpoint believes governments and businesses throughout the world are expected to feel the effects of this. The healthcare industry is one of the most targeted, with an average of 1,387 attacks per week on organizations, resulting in a 69 percent increase in attacks.
According to data from Check Point, there has been a considerable uptick in cyberattacks across all regions, with a global surge of 42 percent in the first half of 2022. Worldwide, 23 percent of business networks have been targeted by multifunctional malware, 15 percent by cryptominer assaults, 13 percent by infostealer infections, 12 percent by mobile attacks, and 8 percent by ransomware attacks. Additionally, Check Point found that Emotet has reclaimed its place as the most prevalent malware threat in the Americas, even after being taken down by law enforcement in January 2021. Emotet has been found in 8.6% of malware attacks in the first half of 2022. A broad range of other malware variants are currently being employed, with Formbook (4.2%), Remcos (2.3%), and XMRig (1.9%) being the next most frequent.
Based on attack trends discovered in 1H 2022, Check Point has predicted the cyber threat landscape for the remainder of the year. With macros disabled, more varied email infection chains are anticipated to be utilized, ransomware is predicted to become considerably more fragmented, hacktivism is predicted to develop further, and cyberattacks on blockchain and cryptocurrency platforms are predicted to rise. Check Point has recommended a number of actions organizations can take to improve cybersecurity. They advise installing updates and patches on a regular basis, adopting a prevention-first strategy and approach, installing anti-ransomware programs, improving awareness of online threats, working with law enforcement and national cyber authorities, and implementing incident response plans.