How often do Cyber Attacks occur?

Welcome to the latest edition of Gary’s frequently asked questions. With permission from Gary, we’ve created a series of answers to some of the most common problems in the IT industry that Gary has asked us for help with over the time we’ve been his IT Support consultant. We’ll take it from here, thanks, Gary.

In this edition of Gary’s frequently asked questions, we are going to be discussing how common a cyber attack is, as well as run you through a few stats to show the importance of protecting yourself from a cyber-attack.

If you’re keen to read even more insights like this, be sure to check out our Cyber Crime Statistics page.

The cyber security industry is growing day by day. As Cyber Security Services become more important, and more specialists join the ranks, more malware is being launched than ever before, taking advantage of cyber security failures. More and more resources are being deployed to counter cyber-attacks. Although these efforts have been widely successful so far, the industry still has a long way to go before we can, as a whole, catch up with these threats. So, with that, here are 5 shocking cyber security stats to tell you why you need to be aware of the extent of cyber-attacks.

There is a hacker attack every 39 seconds

A Clark School study at the University of Maryland was one of the first to be able to quantify the near constant rate of hacker attacks of computers with Internet access – every 39 seconds on average, affecting one in three Americans every year – and the non-secure usernames and passwords we use give attackers more chance of success.

43% of cyber-attacks target small business

64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks. 62% experienced phishing and social engineering attacks. 59% of companies experienced malicious code and botnets as well as 51% of companies experiencing denial of service attacks.

For more stats related to phishing, check out our Phishing Statistics guide.

Since 2013 there are 3,809,448 records stolen from breaches every day

3,809,448 cyber attacks today, 158,727 per hour, 2,645 per minute and 44 every second of every day.

Over 75% of the health care industry has been infected with malware over the last year

The study examined 700 healthcare organisations including medical treatment facilities, health insurance agencies and healthcare manufacturing companies.

Ransomware has been a major threat to the health care sector. For more insights, be sure to read our guide to Ransomware Statistics.

95% of cyber security breaches are due to human error

Cyber criminals and hackers will infiltrate your company through your weakest link, which is almost never in the IT department.

How many cyberattacks happen daily?

By some counts, there are around 65,000 attacks per day on small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK.

What does this mean?

Last year, Ginni Rometty, IBM’s Chair, President and CEO, said: “Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world.” And she was right. During the next five years, cybercrime might become the greatest threat to every person, place and thing in the world.

With evolving technology comes new cyber threats, and we are behind in security. Understanding the cyber terminology, attacks in network security, threats and opportunities is critical for every person in every business across all industries. By providing advanced cyber training and education solutions in all departments of your business, from marketing and sales to accounts and information security, you are investing in your company’s protection against cyber threats.