Cybercrime is back in action in Italy after the decline in the lockdown period and the early summer months. Almost following the trend of Covid-19 infections and the related restrictive measures hand in hand, cyber crimes experienced an exploit in June, after the lockdown just ended, a decline in the height of summer and a resurgence in September .
This is what emerges from the third report on cyber threats in 2020 in Italy prepared by the Exprivia Cybersecurity Observatory, which analyzed 42 public information sources. In the period July-September, 148 events were recorded between attacks, privacy violations and incidents, compared to 171 in the period April-June and 49 between January and March. The decline in July and August coincides with the slowdown in production activities and with the summer holidays. The increase in September, in which half of the criminal events (70) of the whole quarter were concentrated, instead highlights a trend that seems to run parallel to that of the pandemic.
Compared to the second quarter, in the third quarter the number of episodes concerning the Public Administration doubled, among the sectors most affected with 34 attacks, half of which in the month of September alone, due to the resumption of telematic practices. Municipalities are among the favorite targets of criminals, often not able to deal with cyber threats adequately.
Following, with 23 episodes, the Finance sector (+ 44% compared to the second quarter of the year), which had already registered an exponential increase, going from the single episode in the first quarter to 16 in the second, a sign of the growing interest of cyber- criminals for a profitable sector.
Source: Corcom