Q1 is the most dangerous time of year for cyber attacks: report

Historically, the first quarter has been the most dangerous period of a fiscal year in terms of hacking activity, a new report has found.

According to the UK Cybersecurity Report 2022 by TWC IT Solutions, one of London’s leading IT companies for SMEs, retail (12.63%), finance (11.05%) and healthcare (9.47%) sectors were the most affected industries.

The report, which compiles and analyses the 200 most significant cyber attacks recorded in the UK cybersphere from 2006 to 2022, aims to inform and educate businesses in the UK about the rising threat of cyber attacks in a post-COVID-19 era and encourage investment in a robust cybersecurity strategy.

“The alarming increase in business-related cyber attacks has no doubt been caused by poor security management within hybrid working environments, as companies still struggle to deal with the fallout of the pandemic and the extra financial burden this places upon them,” Paolo Sartori, chief executive of TWC IT Solutions, commented.

Some of the key insights of the UK Cybersecurity Report 2022:

• 41.2% of the most significant UK cyber attacks since 2006 were recorded in 2022
• 42% of the UK’s largest cyber attacks targeted small and medium-sized businesses
• Malware is the “king” of UK cyber attacks with a 49.14% share, with ransomware being the No.1 “deadliest” threat for businesses
• The average number of affected accounts during a data breach was 58,317,303

“Prevention is always better than the cure when it comes to mitigating the impact of business cyber attacks - raising awareness amongst employees and conducting regular cybersecurity training should never be underestimated as part of a successful defence strategy,” Sartori added.