As a result of the rising number of attacks, companies are beginning to increase investment into high grade cybersecurity systems in order to shield themselves from such attacks. For the companies that had been breached in the last year, more than one in two companies were doing so.

BanklessTimes.com set out to uncover the current levels of cyberattacks in order to highlight where improvements in cybersecurity systems may be necessary. One investment companies should contemplate is the deployment of security AI and automation, on average companies using such technology lose 39.3% less money on a data breach than those who do not. Similarly, the security tech can significantly reduce the duration of data breaches, reducing the time to identify and contain data breaches by 108 days, from 322 to 214 days.

It was revealed that in 2022 corporate networks worryingly saw 38% more attempted attacks than in 2021. However, some nations were subject to higher volumes of attacks than others, with the UK recording a staggering 77% increase in cyberattacks. Similarly, in the US, the number of recorded cyber attacks more than doubled year on year.

Cybercriminals are not faithful to one type of attack, with many variations of cyber attacks used in attempt to gain information and capital. One type of attack that is frequently used is a DDoS attack, of which there were 6,797,959 just in the second half of 2022 alone. Last year also saw a 2.2% year-on-year increase in the number of malware attacks to stand at 5.5 billion. This is a particularly disappointing figure considering the previous three years saw steady declines. Ransomware attacks also worsened, with the average ransomware payment reaching $740,144 in Q2 of 2023, a staggering 126% increase in the average amount of ransom paid to cyber attackers compared to the first quarter of 2023.

Data breaches cost more than just the trust of customers: The average cost of a data breach increased by 2.3% from 2022, standing at $4.45 million up from $4.35 million in 2021. However, the cost is dependant on a variety of factors. It was uncovered that the cost of a data breach greatly differs by country, with the USA bearing the highest cost at $9.48 million.

The second highest cost is in the Middle East at $8.07 million, while in Canada, it is $5.13 million, the third-highest globally. The healthcare industry faces the highest cost of any industry, at $10.93 million on average. Whilst in the financial sector, the average cost of a data breach is almost half that of the healthcare sector, at $5.90 million, and in pharmaceuticals, it is $4.82 million.