Intrusions conducted by advanced persistent threat (APT) operations were noted by Group-IB to rise 58% in 2024, with the government and military sectors most impacted by such attacks, followed by the manufacturing, financial services, IT, and science and engineering industries, Cybernews reports.
Mounting geopolitical tensions around the world have significantly fueled intensified APT targeting of governments and militaries, which have critical infrastructure schematics and classified intelligence that could be leveraged for cyberespionage and cyber warfare, according to Group-IB CEO Dmitry Volkov.
"The rise of hacktivism, often aligned with state-sponsored interests, has contributed to the increasing frequency of attacks on government institutions and critical national infrastructure as they seek to cause disruption and collect information," said Volkov, who also emphasized the importance of increasing cybersecurity spending for national defense amid the lack of such funding across many countries.
Aside from bolstering defensive cybersecurity investments and international partnerships, governments should also implement cyber defense frameworks based on threat intelligence, Volkov added.
