Cyber security remains a hot topic for organisations today as cyber attacks directed at business organisations are on the rise according to the results of a new survey conducted by Atlas VPN. According to the Atlas VPN investigation, companies across North America reported a 93% increase in cyber attacks in the past 12 months. As many as 88% of respondents believe that the rise in cyber attacks was a result of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 23% of the respondents saw an uptick in attack volumes between 1-25%. Moreover, 42% reported a more significant increase between 26-50%. Nearly a quarter of the surveyed companies saw a more than 50% growth in the attacks’ volume, while 4% reported that the attack volume surged by more than 2 to 4 times.
Rachel Welch, COO of Atlas VPN, shares her thoughts on the surge in cyber attacks: “Cyber criminals see the pandemic as an unparalleled opportunity. The majority of employees are working from home, which makes them more vulnerable to cyber threats.”
Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting businesses, and they are doing so by employing a wide range of tactics and techniques. According to the research, custom malware was the most common cyber attack threat named by nearly the third of the surveyed companies at 29%. It was especially prevalent in the financial sector, with 62% of the companies reporting it as the most common type of attack.
Commodity malware is another prolific cyber security attack type reported by 1 in 10 of the surveyed companies. It is especially common among companies in the financial and healthcare sectors, with 12% of financial companies and 14% of healthcare organisations having experienced it within the span of 12 months.
