Research from KnowBe4 reported that critical infrastructure will endure more than 420 million cyberattacks between January 2023 and January 2024, a 30% increase from the previous year. Physical frameworks such as power grids, transportation and communications networks are particularly at risk due to the disruption any outages would cause.
As infrastructure around the world becomes increasingly digitalized, their reliance on the internet makes them vulnerable to cyber threats. For example, power grids in Europe and the United States are increasingly at risk of a “cyberattack flood,” having been inundated with thousands of attacks since the start of the war in Ukraine.
The infrastructure of over 160 countries has been targeted, with the US being the top target, followed by the UK, Germany, India and Japan. The threat actors reportedly came most often from China, Russia and Iran.
Cyberwar
Attacks on infrastructure have the potential to disrupt the daily lives of millions of people, with hospitals and businesses at risk, and millions more people losing access to bank accounts or power. Attacks on utilities have quadrupled since 2020. When you consider the increased physical threat, such as the sabotage of internet cablesthere is a chance of devastating damage.
Earlier this year, the US water networks identified as a serious target for foreign-backed threat actors. While these have caused only minimal disruption so far, Leonard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON, one of Europe’s largest utilities, said that “the bad guys are getting better every day,” noting, “I’m worried now and I’ll be even more worried in the future.”
Research suggests that in the event of an attack, power plants are likely to be the first target, with railways, communications and manufacturing facilities following close behind. These are calculated scenarios, of course, but the rise in cyberattacks highlights the need to invest in cybersecurity now more than ever.
Via WeetBe4