Cyberattack on BaFin's website

The increase in digital transformation has led to additional cybersecurity risks, as during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies adapted to a remote working style, therefore creating more possibilities for cybercriminals. Moreover, the war in Ukraine has also influenced security globally, with suspected Russian-sourced cyberattacks observed immediately after the conflict began.

The Threat Landscape 2022 report by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (Enisa) highlighted eight threat groups, including ransomware, malware, social engineering, data, and availability threats, disinformation, and supply-chain attacks. As of 2022, ransomware attacks remained one of the primary cyber threats, with the highest demand being EUR 62 million in 2021, compared to EUR 13 million in 2019. Moreover, it is estimated that in 2021 global ransomware reached EUR 18 million worth of damages, 57 times higher than in 2015.

During the pandemic, malware use decreased substantially, however, it severely increased by the end of 2021, as more companies resumed their work from the office. This increase is mostly attributed to crypto-jacking and Internet-of-Things malware, the latter occurring in the first six months of 2022 more than in the previous four years.

According to Enisa, almost 60% of breaches in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa include a social-engineering component, with the top organisations impersonated by phishers being from the financial and technology sectors. IT systems are usually affected by threats against availability, as Denial of Service attacks hitting mobile networks and connected devices. Furthermore, attacks preventing users from accessing data or services have been used for COVID-19-related websites and in the Russia-Ukraine cyber warfare.

Between 2021 and 2022, the sectors that have been substantially affected by cyberattacks include public administration or government, with 24% of incidents reported, digital service providers, with 13%, general public, with 12%, services, with 12%, finance and banking, with 9%, and health, with 7%. 

Considering that cyber operations are used together with traditional military action, individuals funded by the Russian state have carried out cyber operations against entities and organisations in Ukraine and in the countries that support it.

Recently, pro-Russian hackers attacked the European Investment Bank, attempting to disrupt the stability of the Western financial system. The bank experienced a complete outage after the attack, while the European Investment Fund (EIF) had its appearance modified. Moreover, it appears that this attack is only the first in a larger attempt, following targets reportedly including other European and US banks, as well as the US Federal Reserve System.

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