Telecom, mass media and construction development companies are the top cyberattack targets for hackers in the first half of 2024.

According to a new report from cybersecurity solutions company Kaspersky, Telecoms faced the greatest number of incidents, likely due to attackers’ interest in sensitive data and exploitation of trusted relationships.

Telecom sector suffered 284 cybersecurity incidents per 10,000 systems, while mass media companies experienced 180 attacks per 10,000 systems and the construction sector registered 179 for every 10,000 systems, according to Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response (MDR) statistics for the first half of 2024.

“A successful attack, especially an advanced one, on a telecom company can expose millions of customers’ records, including contact details, social security numbers and credit card information,” Sergey Soldatov, head of Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response, said.

“It can also serve as a possible springboard for further attacks on clients through trusted relationship exploitation. That’s why this sector is so attractive for cybercriminals,” he said.

Information warfare

Mass media organisations have become increasingly frequent targets during international conflicts, which are often characterised by information warfare in which they play a crucial role. The construction development firms, too, have become the targets because of the heavy cash flows and their dependence on subcontractors.

Telecommunication companies also faced the highest average number of critical incidents, with 32 attacks per 10,000 systems.

“Critical incidents are human-driven attacks or malware threats that have a potential or actual significant impact on the company’s infrastructure,” Sergey Soldatov said.

The IT industry follows with nearly 12 average critical incidents, while the government sector experienced eight average critical incidents in the first half of 2024.

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