In 2021, 2,049 "serious" cyber attacks were recorded, an increase of about 10% compared to the data recorded in 2020. An emergency that globally costs companies and individuals 6 trillion dollars, a value equal to 4 times the Italian GDP, with cybercrime working like organized crime.
This was stated by the latest Clusit 2022 Report, drawn up on the data of the last 12 months by the Italian Association for Information Security.
The most affected target in 2021 was the government and military target, with 15% of total attacks (+ 3% year-on-year).
IT follows (14%), multiple goals (13%), health (13%) and education (8%).
According to analysts, there was an average of 171 serious attacks per month, the highest figure ever recorded.
The researchers highlight how the situation could be even worse, in numerical terms, because victims often tend to keep the attacks undergone confidential, despite the presence of regulations such as the GDPR and the NIS directive, which require that violations be communicated promptly, under penalty of sanctions. and fines.
In 2021, malware - in particular ransomware - is reconfirmed as the preferred tools for generating profits and represents, as in 2020, 41% of the techniques used.
79% of detected attacks had a "high" impact, compared to 50% in 2020. Of these, 32% were characterized by "critical" severity and 47% "high".
Given these percentages,
In addition to the frequency, however, the economic severity index of the attacks analyzed also increased in 2021.
"This is a dramatic growth - comments Andrea Zapparoli Manzoni, member of the Clusit Steering Committee - with a double-digit annual worsening rate, equal to 6 trillion dollars, 4 times the Italian GDP. We need to act and for this the allocated resources the Pnrr will have to be managed with stringent governance from a cyber security perspective of all the digitization projects envisaged, finally enhancing the skills of human resources in the country ".
The most worrying aspect is that, unlike the defenders, criminals today actively collaborate with each other ", comments Sofia Scozzari, member of the Clusit Scientific Committee,"
