Education, the government sector and critical infrastructure are currently the three most exposed sectors worldwide. The average number of cyberattacks stands at 2,270 per week. In Poland, the government sector clearly leads the ranking, being targeted for the second time this year by more than 3,100 attacks per week, according to the latest observations by Check Point Research.
For company boards, perhaps the most worrying fact is that the observed increase is not limited to a single region or industry. Attackers are casting a wide net, testing the resilience of almost every sector of the economy. Education remains among the most frequently targeted sectors, facing 4,745 attacks per week, followed closely by the government sector with 2,748 attacks and telecommunications with 2,817. South America recorded a sharp 27 percent increase in attacks, while Europe saw a 22 percent year-on-year rise.
In Poland, the situation is particularly concerning for the government sector. For the first time this year, it is facing more than 3,100 attacks per week. Alongside government and public administration, the most frequently attacked industries include energy, with more than 1,840 attacks, and business services, with more than 1,640 attacks. Fortunately, the average across all sectors is significantly lower. Check Point telemetry data indicates an average of 1,775 attacks per week, representing a 3 percent increase compared with last year.
“The June data shows a broad increase in cyber activity, not a single isolated spike. Attackers are expanding their reach across regions and industries, while ransomware groups continue to reorganise and scale,” says Omer Dembinsky, Data Research Manager at Check Point Research.
Business in the Crosshairs of a New Ransomware Cartel
Although it seemed that the market for digital extortion had already reached its peak, the June statistics dramatically challenged that view. The number of documented ransomware attacks reached 646, marking a 33 percent year-on-year increase, according to Check Point Research. The business services sector is currently suffering the greatest operational losses, accounting for as much as 31 percent of all victims.
At the same time, the digital underground has a new and ruthless leader. The group known as The Gentlemen has forcefully displaced previous players, accounting for 17 percent of publicly disclosed attacks and pushing the previously most active syndicate, Qilin, into second place with 11 percent. The new ransomware leaders built their empire in less than a year, rapidly scaling their operations by offering affiliates automated access to tens of thousands of already compromised edge devices. This tactical shift and growing aggression mean that the threat landscape is evolving at a breathtaking pace. This is clearly visible in the APAC region, where the share of global ransomware victims jumped from 16.8 percent in April to 22.6 percent in June.
“The rise of The Gentlemen to the top of the ransomware ranking is a clear signal that new operators can quickly become serious global threats. Organisations need AI-powered security that focuses on prevention and protects networks, users, data and AI-based workflows before attacks can cause damage,” notes Omer Dembinsky.
Artificial Intelligence: Your Best Employee and Your Biggest Critical Weak Point
While decision-makers are investing millions in securing the external boundaries of their networks, a quiet threat is maturing inside organisations. Generative artificial intelligence has become an everyday tool in many companies. Unfortunately, this is precisely where a major vulnerability now lies. The problem is not rooted primarily in technological flaws in AI models, but in the carelessness of employees who unthinkingly enter confidential corporate data into them.
The scale of the issue is alarming. Check Point statistics show that one in every twenty-six GenAI prompts sent from corporate networks carried a high risk of data leakage, translating into a global rate of 3.9 percent. As many as 85 percent of organisations regularly using these tools have been affected by high-risk incidents. What exactly is leaking from companies? In 80 percent of cases, it is personal data. However, open prompts also include critical information about network and IT architecture, accounting for 62 percent of cases, legal information at 61 percent, and sensitive financial data at 60 percent.
Employees treat AI tools as trusted confidants, which means sectors such as healthcare — the unwanted leader, with 5.7 percent of prompts classified as high-risk — telecommunications and business services are seeing massive exposure to the leakage of corporate secrets.
