The Top 10 Countries Most Targeted by Cyberattacks
Which countries are attacked most often in cyberspace? A new report by BlackBerry reveals that cyber threat actors target entities in the United States more than any other country in the world. The report also features a “top list” of countries most often on the receiving end of cyberattacks: five countries that receive the most cyberatttacks overall, and five countries most often targeted with unique, never-seen-before malware variants.
Let’s take a look at the list — and the attacker motivations behind it.
Countries Most Often Targeted by Cyberattacks
The new BlackBerry Global Threat Intelligence Report takes an in-depth look at 90 days of attacks stopped by Cylance® cybersecurity solutions and servcies from BlackBerry, including CylanceENDPOINT™ and CylanceMDR™. The threat research team analyzed 3.7 million cyberattacks from April to June 2024, with results in the image below.
Here are the most attacked countries in cyberspace, overall, based on the volume of attacks.
- United States
- South Korea
- Japan
- Australia
- New Zealand
And here are the five countries that are most attacked in cyberspace using new, unique malware variants.
- United States
- Japan
- South Korea
- Australia
- Canada
BlackBerry threat researchers detected threat actors using a record amount of new malware during the quarter, with Cylance AI blocking more than 11,000 unique malware attacks per day.
Comparing 2024 Cyberattacks by Country to 2022 Attacks
BlackBerry researchers publish the Global Threat Intelligence Report each quarter and the ranking of countries that are top cyberattack targets changes over time. For example, here are the 10 most attacked countries in cyberspace according to BlackBerry analysis from September to November 2022.
- United States (65% of cyberattacks)
- Japan (8%)
- Brazil (6%)
- Canada (5%)
- Australia (4%)
- Mexico (4%)
- South Korea (2%)
- Chile (2%)
- India (2%)
- Peru (2%)
Why Do Cyber Threat Actors Target These Countries?
Why do threat actors target the countries listed most often with cyberattacks? According to BlackBerry Vice President of Threat Research and Intelligence, Ismael Valenzuela, there are several characteristics that make a country and its organizations a desirable target to threat actors. “Our research shows that there is a positive correlation between an increased number of cyberattacks and countries that possess greater internet penetration, significant economies and larger populations,” he says.
“It seems that the number of politically motivated threat actors is also increasing, which includes the vast spreading of misinformation and disinformation through fake news sites, tracking the actions and behaviors of journalists and dissidents, as well as attempted direct cyberattacks on government and military organizations.”
What Can Relentlessly Targeted Countries Expect in the Future?
BlackBerry Threat Researchers forecast four key things to expect if you live or work in one of the the most attacked countries in cyberspace.
- Continued election interference, including the use of deepfakes
- Politically charged phishing lures
- The weaponization of chaos
- Evolving ransomware tactics and attacker use of AI
More Details in the BlackBerry Report
In addition to the most attacked countries list, the BlackBerry Global Threat Intelligence Report paints a rich picture of the current cyberthreat landscape, including:
- 90 days of cyberattacks “by the numbers”
- Most common cyber weapons used in attacks
- Top threat actors and countermeasures
- Operating systems targeted
The report also includes updates on attack trends from the BlackBerry Incident Response Team, the CylanceMDR™ Team, and a trusted law-enforcement partner, the Royal Candian Mounted Police’s National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (NC3). It is a fantastic resource for all types of organizations.
