Since 2023, our team has dedicatedly collected and analyzed data on cyber incidents across Europe, with a particular focus on Germany. This year's annual review highlights the evolving landscape of cyber threats, emphasizing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and ransomware attacks due to their significant impact and high visibility. These types of cyber incidents have not only become more prevalent but also more sophisticated, presenting substantial challenges to cybersecurity defenses and necessitating a deeper understanding of their mechanisms and repercussions.
Cyber incidents reported by AV-TEST are derived from monitoring activities across both public and deep web sources. It is important to note that these findings may not fully represent the complete landscape of incidents that have occurred.
In 2023, AV-TEST observed a total of 4,618 cyber-attacks in Europe, with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and Ransomware forming the bulk of these malicious activities. Specifically, there were 2,525 DDoS incidents and 1,066 Ransomware attacks, alongside 1,027 unspecified events that include a range of other malicious activities such as data theft for hacktivism or espionage. These figures underline the persistent threat posed by well-known attack vectors, as well as the prevalence of more covert operations.
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