The telecommunications industry has become the top target of hackers in 2024 in Russian Federation

In Russia, the telecom industry has become the main target of hackers in 2024. The share of DDoS attacks on the telecom sector amounted to 31% of the total number of attacks on Russian companies last year. This follows from the data of the analytical center of the company StormWall, which were reviewed by "Izvestia" on January 15.

It is noted that politically motivated hacktivists, who sought to harm Russian business, took part in the organization of mass attacks on telecom companies. The increased interest of hackers in the telecom sphere is caused by the ever-growing efficiency of cyber attacks on this industry, experts believe.

"In Q1 2024, the effectiveness of attacks on telecom companies amounted to 34%, in Q2 it was already 61%, in Q3 it grew a little more and reached 64%, and at the end of the year in Q4 it amounted to a record 68%. By the end of 2024, the average effectiveness of attacks on the telecom sphere is 57%. This indicates that more than half of the attacks of attackers on telecom companies were successful, despite the companies' own efforts and means of protection, which they used to repel attacks," - specified in the analytical center.

At the same time, among the most important targets of hackers last year was also the public sector (17% of the total number of attacks). Mass attacks on this sphere were launched by hacktivists against the background of a difficult geopolitical situation, the analysts said.

Another key target of cybercriminals in Russia in 2024 was retail (14% of the total number of attacks). Mass attacks on retailers are mainly due to increased competition in the market, as well as for the purpose of extortion and blackmail.

At the same time, attacks on the financial sector accounted for 9% of the total number of attacks, attacks on the cloud segment of the IT sphere took 7%, and cyber attacks on the entertainment industry amounted to 5%.

StormWall experts also identified the most important targets of attackers on a global level. The main targets of hackers in the world in ghjikjv year were the financial industry (22%), public sector (19%), telecoms (16%), entertainment (14%) and retail (12%).

Earlier, on January 13, it was reported that 65% of the analyzed companies in Russia have a low level of security. Attacks on them can cause critical damage, lead to the suspension of key business processes and financial losses. This is stated in the results of a study by the information security company Bastion.