Cyber attacks on US companies has risen by 93%

As many as 88% of respondents believe that the rise in cyber attacks was a result of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 23% of the respondents saw an uptick in attack volumes between 1-25%. Moreover, 42% reported a more significant increase between 26-50%.

Nearly a quarter of the surveyed companies saw a more than 50% growth in the attacks' volume, while four percent reported that the attack volume surged by more than 2 to 4 times.

Rachel Welch, COO of Atlas VPN, shared her thoughts on the surge in cyber attacks:"Cyber criminals see the pandemic as an unparalleled opportunity. The majority of employees are working from home, which makes them more vulnerable to cyber threats."

Malware most favored by cyber criminals

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting businesses, and they are doing so by employing a wide range of tactics and techniques.

According to the research, custom malware was the most common cyber attack threat named by nearly the third of the surveyed companies at 29%. It was especially prevalent in the financial sector, with 62% of the companies reporting it as the most common type of attack.

Commodity malware is another prolific cyber security attack type reported by one in ten of the surveyed companies. It is especially common among companies in the financial and healthcare sectors, with 12% of financial companies and 14% of healthcare organisations having experienced it within the span of 12 months.