Check Point Research (CPR), the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, has published its 2023 Security Report reflecting on a chaotic year in cybersecurity. The report looks back on a tumultuous 2022, which saw cyberattacks reach an all-time high in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Education and Research remain the most targeted sector but attacks on the healthcare sector registered a 74% increase year-on-year.
According to the report, cyberattacks have risen by 38% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with an average of 1,168 weekly attacks per organisation being recorded. The report also highlights the role played by smaller and more agile hackers and ransomware groups in exploiting legitimate collaboration tools used in the hybrid workplace. From the rise of new ransomware variants to the spread of hacktivism in conflict areas in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the 2023 Security Report uncovers the trends and behaviours that defined the year.
The report also offers insights specifically for CISOs, aimed at drawing attention to critical security actions for the coming year. These insights include reducing complexity to bridge the cyberskills gap, limiting the cost of cloud misconfigurations and increasing the use of automation and AI to detect network risks that may go unnoticed by the human eye.
“There is no doubt we will see an increase in the volume of attacks over the next 12 months,” said Maya Horowitz, VP Research at Check Point Software. “Cloud migration has created a wider attack surface for cybercriminals and the legitimate tools we all use will be further manipulated by cybercriminals. This has already been demonstrated in the case of ChatGPT, with Russian cybercriminals trying to bypass OpenAI’s API restrictions and gain access to the chatbot for malicious reasons.”
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