Digital Attack Frequency by Sector in December 2021

The cyber security facts and figures pertaining to December of 2021 have been released. Take a close look at the distribution of incidents by category for the month, and you will find certain sectors were targeted at a much higher frequency than others. Without further ado, let’s look at the industries targeted at the highest frequency in the final month of 2021.

Crunching the Cyber-Attack Numbers by Industry

The breakdown of December’s cyber-attacks reveals that eCommerce websites were targeted at the highest frequency. This fact should not come as a surprise, considering hackers are well aware that eCommerce businesses process a considerable number of transactions daily, making them ripe for exploitation. All in all, 13.3% of cyber-attacks in December were levied against eCommerce businesses.

Online forums come in just behind the eCommerce industry in the context of the frequency of digital attacks throughout the final month of the year. Internet forums suffered 10.6% of all web-based attacks in December. This attack frequency is a bit higher than most would anticipate simply because online forums are not hotbeds for transactions of any sort.  

Service providers were attacked at the third-highest frequency in December. Exactly 8.8% of online attacks were launched against service providers in December. This statistic is logical considering service providers render services in return for financial compensation. However, cyber security industry veterans are right to question why online forums were attacked more frequently than service providers and other sectors throughout December.

Gaming, Media Entertainment, Crypto, and Beyond

Coming in just behind service providers in terms of the frequency of digital attacks is the gaming sector. Exactly 6.2% of all online attacks were launched against gaming industry websites in the final month of the year. Media entertainment takes the fifth slot for most attacks in the month. Exactly 5.3% of the month’s attacks were levied against media entertainment websites.

The cryptocurrency industry was attacked the sixth-most frequently in December. Slightly more than 4% of the digital attacks in the month were launched against cryptocurrency websites. Rounding out the top 10 industries attacked at the highest frequency in the final month of the year are finance, the adult industry, general business, and healthcare. The financial industry suffered 2.7% of attacks in the month. The adult and general business industries suffered the same percentage of attacks as the financial industry. 
In December, sectors with less than 2% of monthly attacks include sports, healthcare, academic websites, voters, news, travel, technology, government, gambling, file sharing, and hosting. 
 

Why is eCommerce Targeted so Frequently?

As noted above, eCommerce is targeted by digital evildoers at an elevated frequency. The attacks on this industry are soaring as time progresses primarily because business is moving away from conventional brick-and-mortar retailers to the e-tailers on the internet.  

The sad truth is that eCommerce payment fraud has skyrocketed 300% in the previous 10 years. Fraud and online attacks against eCommerce businesses will likely spike even more as society gradually transitions to living, working, and playing in the much-hyped metaverse. If your business or home computer is not adequately protected, it is only a matter of time until you become a statistic. It is in your best interest to take advantage of the industry’s best internet privacy and security solutions that safeguard your sensitive information.