Cybersecurity, successful cyber attacks + 56%, privacy violation boom

Cyber ​​incidents are constantly increasing in Italy, i.e. cyber attacks that are successful causing damage to institutions, companies and private citizens. This is what emerges from the latest Report on cyber threats of the Exprivia Cybersecurity Observatory, which between July and September 2021 records 273 phenomena including attacks, incidents and violations of privacy. Overall, the phenomena are slightly down (-2.5%) compared to the previous quarter, but the techniques used by cybercriminals, in constant evolution, lead to as many as 93 incidents. The number of attacks stands at 166, while there are 14 privacy violations. For the latter, up 40% compared to the previous quarter, the Guarantor issued approximately seven million euros in fines. Compared to the first quarter of the year, when 7% of attacks hit, between July and September this figure reached 56%, causing “increasingly serious and irreparable damage”. According to the Exprivia Observatory, which takes into consideration 95 public sources, in the third quarter of 2021 the sector that recorded the highest number of accidents was that of Software / Hardware (34 episodes), therefore ICT companies, digital services, e-commerce, devices and operating systems, which mainly suffer the theft of data, such as login credentials or sensitive information. Followed by the Finance sector – from banks to insurance companies, to cryptocurrency platforms – with 19 cases, where in addition to the theft of credit card data or access to bank accounts, there is an increase in requests for money. The work of culture on cyber security, in the spotlight since the beginning of the pandemic, is starting to bear fruit. In fact, the use of phishing technique decreased by 19% compared to the previous quarter: people pay more attention to all those methods of enticement through deceptive e-mails or social networks. On the other hand, there is a significant increase (+ 22%) in the use of malware as an attack vector to steal sensitive information, mainly by spying on users’ banking activities.