CYBERSECURITY | Global cyberattacks rise 48% in September
The cybersecurity research unit of Check Point Software Technologies reported a 16% month-on-month increase in weekly attacks.
Organizations worldwide faced an average of 2,803 cyberattacks per week in September, up 48% from a year earlier, as phishing, ransomware and data exposure linked to generative artificial intelligence continued to threaten businesses, according to Check Point Research.
The cybersecurity research unit of Check Point Software Technologies reported a 16% month-on-month increase in weekly attacks. Singapore recorded an average of 3,603 attacks per organization per week, up 92% year on year and the second-highest increase in Asia Pacific, according to the report.
“September’s data shows cyber risk increasing in both volume and breadth,” said Omer Dembinsky, data research manager at Check Point Research. He said organizations need coordinated defenses across networks, cloud environments, endpoints, email and AI use to prevent attacks and data exposure.
Education remains the most targeted sector
Education was the most targeted sector globally, averaging 6,656 weekly attacks per organization, up 59% year on year and 24% from August. Check Point attributed the increase partly to the start of the academic year, when students, faculty and other users reconnect to institutional networks.
Telecommunications ranked second, with 3,483 weekly attacks per organization, up 29% year on year. Government followed with 3,443 attacks, a 37% increase.
In Singapore, financial services recorded an average of 3,652 weekly attacks per organization, while business services registered 3,633 and consumer goods and services recorded 3,446.
Latin America leads regional attack volumes
Latin America recorded the highest regional volume, averaging 3,813 weekly attacks per organization, up 35% year on year. Africa followed with 3,701 attacks, while Asia Pacific recorded 3,593.
Europe experienced the fastest annual growth, with attacks increasing 61% from September 2025. North America recorded a 50% increase.
Generative AI use raises data exposure risks
Check Point found that one in every 39 enterprise generative AI prompts in September posed a high risk of sensitive data leakage. The exposure affected 89% of organizations that regularly use generative AI tools.
A further 14% of prompts contained potentially sensitive information. The average user generated 131 prompts during the month, while each organization used an average of eight AI tools.
Network and IT infrastructure data appeared in prompts at 71% of organizations surveyed, followed by financial data at 70%, legal and regulatory information at 68%, employee and human resources data at 62%, and personally identifiable information at 60%.
These percentages represent the share of organizations where each type of information was observed, rather than the share of prompts containing that data, Check Point said.
Business services recorded the highest rate of high-risk AI prompts at 4.9%, followed by financial services at 4.1% and health care and medical services at 3.5%. Latin America had the highest regional rate at 4%, compared with the global average of 2.5%.
Phishing, ransomware remain persistent threats
One in every 91 emails, or 1.1%, was classified as phishing in September, compared with one in every 112 emails, or 0.89%, in August. Among phishing emails, 81% contained links and 11% included attachments.
North America recorded the highest regional phishing rate at 1.26%. Associations and nonprofits had the highest industry rate at 2.17%, followed by construction and engineering at 2.05% and real estate, rentals and leasing at 1.38%.
Separately, 824 ransomware attacks were reported in September, a 53% increase from the same month in 2025.
Business services accounted for 31.3% of reported ransomware victims, followed by consumer goods and services at 15.2% and industrial manufacturing at 11%. North America represented 46% of reported incidents, Europe 25% and Asia Pacific 17%.
The Gentlemen was the most prevalent ransomware group, accounting for 13% of published attacks. Qilin followed with 9%, while Akira accounted for 5%. Check Point identified 80 additional extortion groups that reported ransomware attacks during the month.
The findings underscore the need for organizations to manage email threats, protect sensitive information and establish controls for employee use of generative AI, particularly as attacks increase across multiple sectors and regions.
