Cyberattacks on US companies skyrocketed by 93% in the last 12 months

Cybersecurity remains a hot topic for organizations today as cyberattacks directed at business organizations are on the rise.

According to the Atlas VPN investigation, companies across North America reported a 93% increase in cyberattacks in the past 12 months. As many as 88% of respondents believe that the rise in cyberattacks was a result of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 23% of the respondents saw an uptick in attack volumes between 1-25%. Moreover, 42% reported a more significant increase between 26-50%.

Nearly a quarter of the surveyed companies saw a more than 50% growth in the attacks’ volume, while 4% reported that the attack volume surged by more than 2 to 4 times.

Rachel Welch, COO of Atlas VPN, shares her thoughts on the surge in cyberattacks:

“Cybercriminals see the pandemic as an unparalleled opportunity. The majority of employees are working from home, which makes them more vulnerable to cyber threats.”

Malware most favored by cybercriminals

Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting businesses, and they are doing so by employing a wide range of tactics and techniques.

According to the research, custom malware was the most common cyberattack threat named by nearly the third of the surveyed companies at 29%. It was especially prevalent in the financial sector, with 62% of the companies reporting it as the most common type of attack.

Commodity malware is another prolific cybersecurity attack type reported by 1 in 10 of the surveyed companies. It is especially common among companies in the financial and healthcare sectors, with 12% of financial companies and 14% of healthcare organizations having experienced it within the span of 12 months.