UK businesses faced an average of one cyberattack every minute in the first three months of 2023, according to a report by Beaming, a business Internet service provider.
The company’s analysis of malicious web traffic shows that each business experienced 170,508 attempts to breach their online systems, on average, during this period.
The level of cyberattack activity between January and March was 2% lower than the final three months of 2022 – the busiest quarter for cyberattacks on UK businesses since Beaming began tracking malicious web activity in 2016.
Beaming identified 307,385 IP addresses used to launch cyberattacks on UK businesses from January to March 2023. A quarter of these addresses (75,324) were traced back to China. Other countries identified as the source of many attacks included India, the US, Taiwan and Brazil.
Beaming’s analysis also revealed that devices connected to the Internet of Things were most frequently targeted, averaging 21,074 attempts per company. Additionally, businesses experienced an average of 4,301 attempts to breach their web applications in the first quarter of 2023.
“The findings of this report highlight the growing need for businesses to take cybersecurity seriously and invest in robust systems to protect their online and IT assets,” said Sonia Blizzard, Managing Director of Beaming. “The threat of cyberattacks is not going away and businesses must be prepared to defend themselves against an increasingly sophisticated and persistent adversary.”
