Which country is most attacked by cyber attacks in the world?

According to the CEO, more than half of Kaspersky Lab's product users in Russia were targeted by hackers in the first eight months of this year. She noted that governments and financial institutions, as well as telecommunications, media and industry, are the most common targets for cybercriminals.

“Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in public applications and steal credentials, which can be obtained through password cracking, including through smaller companies posing as contractors for larger businesses, thereby compromising organizations,” Kulashova said.

A pressing challenge is posed by hacktivism, in which cybercriminals damage businesses to draw attention to social or political issues, but most cyberattacks are carried out for financial or espionage purposes, she noted.

Kulashova recalled that in July, Kaspersky Lab detected two batches of targeted emails sent to businesses in Russia, containing malicious software or links. These files were sent to about 1,000 employees in the manufacturing, financial and energy sectors, as well as government agency employees. In case of a successful attack, cybercriminals could gain remote access to computers and download confidential files and documents, she explained.

Kulashova also said that hackers carried out a series of complex targeted attacks on Russian IT companies and government agencies.

The campaign used malware, carried out using public cloud infrastructure, including Yandex Cloud and Dropbox, with the aim of stealing confidential information, she pointed out.