Telcos, media, construction top cyberattack targets

Telecom, mass media and construction development companies were the most frequent targets of cyberattacks in the first half of 2024, according to a Kaspersky report released this week.

Telecommunications firms faced the highest number of incidents, with 284 attacks per 10,000 systems, likely due to attackers’ interest in sensitive customer data and the potential to exploit trusted relationships.

Mass media companies experienced 180 attacks per 10,000 systems, a figure that often spikes during international conflicts.

Construction development firms followed with 179 incidents per 10,000 systems, potentially due to the sector’s reliance on subcontractors.

“A successful attack on a telecom company can expose millions of customers,” said Sergey Soldatov, head of Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response.

“Mass media organizations become targets during conflicts, and construction firms are vulnerable through subcontractors,” he explained.

The telecom sector also had the highest average of critical incidents — 32 per 10,000 systems — followed by the IT industry and government.

Globally, cyberattacks have declined slightly since a spike in 2021-2022, as organizations have strengthened defenses. But the threat remains, especially amid geopolitical tensions.

To protect against cyberattacks, Kaspersky recommended: Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services; compromise assessments; incident response plans; security operations center consulting; threat intelligence; cybersecurity training; endpoint protection; network-level security solutions; and security awareness training.