How Many Cyber Attacks Happen Per Day? [2020 Stats and Facts]

Everyone connected to the internet is a target to hackers.

Sorry, we don’t make the rules. 

With this in mind, we have decided to bring you some of the most incredible cyber attack statistics in 2020 to give you an idea of how many cyber attacks per day are happening worldwide. 

How Many Cyber Attacks Happen per Day in 2020?

Here is a sneak peek to get a good grasp on the state of cyber attack statistics worldwide.

• Globally, 30,000 websites are hacked daily.
• 64% of companies worldwide have experienced at least one form of a cyber attack.
• With every passing second, 75 records go missing worldwide.
• In Q2 2019, ransomware attacks peaked with a 363% YoY growth.
• Around 94% of all malware is spread through email.
• Every 39 seconds, there is a new attack somewhere on the web.
• An average of around 24,000 malicious mobile apps are blocked daily on the internet.

Read on to find out more!

Cyber Security Attack Statistics

When it comes to IT, cybersecurity has one of the most significant budgets. 

Why’s this? It has become an issue that eats deep into the very foundation of a business, crashing the party and costing millions and even billions of dollars in the process. 

Let’s look at some cyber attack statistics: 

1. 300,000 thousand new pieces of malware are created daily.

(Source: Web Arx Security)

Yes, you read that right!

Thousands of new malware are being created daily, ranging from viruses, adware, Trojans, spyware, etc., with one sole aim – to steal people’s data. Luckily, we’ve ranked the best antivirus solutions to keep you safe from all these nasty malware. 

2. 86% of all data breaches globally are financially motivated.

(Source: Verizon)

According to statistics on cyber attacks, this is up from the 71% recorded in 2018. From stealing people’s social security number and bank account details, down to ransomware attacks, almost every hack these days are financially motivated. As such, only a few are carried out due to grudges or other motives.

3. The most popular malicious email attachment extensions are (.zip) and (.jar).

(Source: Kaspersky)

Cyber attack stats for 2020 reveal that the .zip and .jar extensions both make up for 37% of all malicious emails sent on the web. The next most popular email attachment is the (.exe) extension with a 19.5% market share. Furthermore, 6.4 billion fake emails are sent every day. That’s why so many people fall victim to phishing attacks. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with our “How to spot a phishing email” guide

Zip files and jar files are extensions that can easily bypass the anti-malware security and restrictions of most email providers. 

4. It costs companies an average of $3.92 million to fix a data breach in 2019.

(Source: Hipaa Journal)

According to statistics on cyber attacks, for countries like the US, the average cost of a data breach is up to $8.2 million. Companies like Equifax have spent about $2 billion fixing a data breach that occurred on its database in 2017, which gave hackers access to steal millions of customer records.

5. Uber reportedly lost the information of 57 million riders and drivers after a data breach in 2016.

(Source: Tech Crunch)

The Uber data breach occurred in 2016 with more than 600,000 drivers having their license numbers and names exposed to hackers. According to cyber attack statistics by the year 2016, this attack represents one of the most significant data breaches in recent times. What’s more, Uber did pay off its hackers $100,000 to delete the stolen data. 

However, word came out about a year later after the attempt proved unsuccessful. Following this, Uber had to pay a sum of $148 million to settle a nationwide investigation into the data breach.

Quite fascinating, right? But that’s not all – if you are interested in more curious facts about the ride-hailing company, you can check out our Uber statistics list. 

6. Friendfinder’s website lost 412 million user accounts after being hacked.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Friendfinder is the parent company of a few other online dating websites such as AdultFriendFinder, Cams.com, Penthouse, Stripshow, and iCams.com. In 2016, Friendfinder was hacked, leading to the loss of millions of accounts containing personal details of users. cyber attacks statistics have it that Cams.com had the worst hit, with over 62 million accounts exposed. Penthouse.com, in its own case, lost more than 7 million accounts.

7. 53% of healthcare organizations have experienced at least one data breach in the past year.

(Source: Hipaa Journal)

Statistics on hospitals and cyber attacks reveal that aside from financial institutions, the healthcare sector remains one of the most targeted. Most times, the reasons are centered on ransomware. Still, it can also be for other reasons like stealing patients’ private information to sell on the dark web. In case you are wondering if your data is for sale on the dark web, you can use a background check site to find out. 

In addition to that, 75% of healthcare organizations worldwide have experienced one form of a data breach or the other. Reports indicate that phishing (68%), and malware (41%) attacks cause the most damage. That’s the reason why by the end of 2020, security breaches could cost $6 trillion dollars for healthcare companies.

8. 60% of all malicious domains on the internet are associated with spam campaigns.

(Source: CISCO)

Did you know that between March 9, 2020, and April 6, 2020, there were over 300,000 coronavirus keyword-related malicious domains registered on the Web?

Aside from the COVID-19 situation, hackers around the world are always on the lookout for new tricks to extort their victims, and “web-spamming” is quite popular. Web-spamming is simply when a website owner tries to outsmart search engines like Google in a bid to get their malicious sites ranked higher in the search engine result page (SERP) for increased traffic. 

Cyber attacks statistics reveal that in the past, keyword stuffing, content stuffing, cloaking, and hidden text were the most used web-spamming methods by hackers. These days, their tricks have moved up a notch due to advancements in search engine algorithms. Attempts like low-quality guest posting and overly “Linky” Footers are often adopted by these malicious websites in a bid to bypass search engine rankings.

9. The average life cycle of a data breach is about 11 months.

(Source: Cyber Observer)

314 days is the total time it takes from the breach to the containment of a successful cyber attack. It takes an average of 7 months to identify a breach, and another 4 months to contain such a breach. 

The malicious programs deployed by successful hackers are stealthy, automatic, and can successfully disguise itself as a non-malicious file in case of a routine security check-up.

10. In Q2 2019, ransomware attacks peaked with a 363% YoY growth.

(Source: PC Mag)

$11.5 billion was the total cost of ransomware attacks worldwide as of 2019, cyber attack statistics show. The increased frequency of ransomware attacks now ensures that there is a ransomware attack somewhere on the internet every 14 seconds. 

In 2020, 27% of all malware incidents now involve ransomware – this is up from the 24% recorded in 2019.

11. Around 94% of all malware is spread through email.

(Source: CSO Online)

According to cyber attacks statistics, email remains one of the most popular and successful means that hackers use in distributing malware to their prospective victims. When a target opens the attached file or clicks on the malicious link following an email, a type of malware is executed. It either steals user information or disrupts company operation, depending on what it was programmed to achieve.

How Many Cyber Attacks Happen per Day Globally?

Before you are done with this post, someone somewhere would have successfully been hacked.

Yes, you read that right! 

Keep reading to find out statistics on how many cyber attacks happen per day on average.

12. Globally, 30,000 websites are hacked daily.

(Source: Web Arx Security)

Financial, healthcare, retail, etc. organizations are all prime targets to hackers daily. When hackers can’t get through the cybersecurity infrastructure of an organization, they can try to gain access to your website. Some of the ways they can achieve this include software vulnerability, access control, and third party integrations like extensions.

For content management system platforms like WordPress, which host over 35% of all websites on the internet, 98% of its vulnerabilities come from plugins.

13. Every 39 seconds, there is a new attack somewhere on the Web.

(Source: University of Maryland)

That is about 2,244 attacks that happen on the internet daily! That’s how many cyber attacks happen per day.

We saw earlier how hackers are creating hundreds of thousands of new malware daily. These malware are not created to sit idle; they are to be deployed onto the web and penetrate vulnerabilities within specific targets. 

However, it is also essential to take note that an attack does not necessarily mean a breach. A cyber attack can be successful or unsuccessful, depending on the cybersecurity measure put in place by a target. 

14. With every passing second, 75 records go missing worldwide due to cyber attacks.

(Source: Web Arx Security)

Did you know that in 2018, over half a billion records were stolen from victims around the world?

That’s quite shocking! But it doesn’t end there. 

Records show that since 2013, over 3.8 million records are stolen by hackers daily. If we break that down even further, we come to see that hackers are stealing about 158,727 records every hour, and 2,645 records per minute.

15. Each IoT device suffers from an average of 5,200 cyber attacks monthly.

(Source: Symantec)

Remote cyber attacks statistics reveal that in 2016, each IoT device was experiencing just 6,000 cyber attacks in total for the year. By 2017, average individual IoT attacks were up by 600% from the previous year to 50,000. With the enormous increase in the availability of IoT devices worldwide, experts are now identifying upwards of 100 million attacks on all IoT devices worldwide in a year.

16. An average of around 24,000 malicious mobile apps are blocked daily on various mobile app stores.

(Source: Symantec)

With over 4.78 billion of the world’s population now mobile phone owners, it is expected that the attention of hackers will shift to mobile phone users. Most malicious mobile apps fall under these four categories – spyware, Trojans, phishing sites, and hidden processes.

17. Over 4,000 ransomware attacks take place around the world daily.

(Source: FBI)

Statistics on how many cyber attacks per day inform us that in 2017, businesses fall victim to ransomware attacks every 40 seconds. In 2019, this figure shifted to just 14 seconds and could sit at the 11 seconds mark by 2021. 

According to cyber attacks on businesses statistics, healthcare, financial, government, and retail organizations remain the most targeted by ransomware attacks.

18. 23,000 DDoS attacks are happening somewhere on the internet every 24 hours.

(Source: Net Scout)

A distributed denial of service attack, also known as DDoS attack, uses multiple systems to flood a particular server with irrelevant requests to the point that the server in question is unable to process legitimate requests from genuine users. It is simply an attempt by hackers to disrupt the day to day operation of a business. 

The motive behind most DDoS attacks is to obtain ransom from victims. Reports have it that 679,000 DDoS attacks occur monthly, which results in a total of 16 DDoS attacks every minute.

19. There are 65,000 attempts to hack small-medium sized businesses in the UK daily.

(Source: Hiscox)

Statistics on how many cyber attacks per day in the UK report that the country has one of the lowest costs of data breaches compared to the world’s average. Also, out of all cyber attacks attempts made daily, 4,500 of them are always successful. 

The average cost of a data breach in the UK is $3.8 million, lower than the world’s average of $3.92 million.

20. 64% of companies worldwide have experienced at least one form of cyber attack in the past year.

(Source: Cybint Solutions)

There are countless reasons why hackers would want to attack a business. Stealing business financial details, customer financial details, espionage, etc., are among the top reasons hackers attack online businesses. 

Some of the most popular forms of cyber attacks mostly utilized by these cyber attackers are; phishing, malware, man-in-the-middle, denial of service, and more attacks.

Industries and Businesses Cyber Attack Statistics

Though individuals and businesses are both prime targets of cyber attacks, the frequency of attacks on businesses (especially small ones) far outweighs that of individuals. Here, we take a look at some of the industry statistics on cyber attack on small businesses worldwide: 

21. In 2019, 47% of all malware cyber attacks were aimed at small businesses.

(Source: Hiscox)

Through its 2019 report, Hiscox revealed that almost half of all small businesses surveyed worldwide were affected at least once by a cyber attack, a 33% increase from 2018. Furthermore, reports on how many cyber attacks per day revealed that 44% of these small businesses saw more than one attack.

22. 61% of organizations worldwide have experienced an IoT attack.

(Source: Purplesec)

Did you know that there are over 8 billion connected IoT devices in 2020?

The healthcare industry is leveraging the IoT to provide timely services to patients, monitor patient health, and improve healthcare services. The growing number of IoT devices has ensured that it becomes a target to hackers always on the prowl, looking for the next vulnerable system to invade. What’s more, these IoT devices arrive with weak security protocols that can easily be bypassed.

23. 63% of all organizational internal data breach is a result of compromised usernames and passwords.

(Source: ID Agent)

In the journey of online security, deploying a strong password system is your first line of defense against cyber attackers, irrespective of what device you are trying to protect. cyber attacks statistics reveal that the lack of employee cybersecurity training causes workers to use weak and predictable passwords such as “12345”, “QWERTY,” etc.

In its research, Microsoft found that 73% of people online use duplicate passwords across various platforms, thereby leaving themselves exposed to a possible data breach.

24. 74% of organizations worldwide claim they are susceptible to insider threats.

(Source: Bitglass)

We pay so much attention to threats posed by external hackers, forgetting that insider threats are as dangerous to us than those we receive from outside sources. A Verizon report in 2018 about statistics on malicious cyber attacks revealed that insider threats caused 34 % of all data breaches for the year. 

Insider threats can come from malicious/careless workers, inside agents, third-party users/contractors, and even disgruntled employees.

25. Globally, the IT industry, IoT devices, cloud, and mobile network experienced over 8.4 million DDoS attacks in 2019.

(Source: Security Magazine)

According to statistics on how many cyber attacks happen per day, when it comes to DDoS attacks, the telecommunications industry remains one of the most hit sectors. A direct DDoS attack on a telecommunications firm can reduce network capacity, increase traffic exchange cost, degrade operational performance, disrupt service availability, and sometimes bring down internet access.

In 2019, the number of DDoS attacks increased by 180% when compared to the previous year, with more than ⅔ of those attacks directed at the telecommunications industry.

26. China is the largest source of all DDoS attacks on the web.

(Source: Tech Node)

According to China’s cyber attacks statistics, in 2018, 4.5 million of all DDoS attacks worldwide came from China. Statistics of cyber attacks in the world go further to inform us that the United States and Russia had 2.7 and 1.5 million, respectively. 

In the third and fourth quarter of 2019, China had a 62.97% and 58.46% share of the total worldwide DDoS attacks.

Cyber Attack Trends

The YoY increase of cyber attacks has been on the rise for a couple of years now and shows no signs of slowing down. With that in mind, here are some of our picks for possible global cyber attacks trends that could happen in a few short years.

27. The cost of cyber attacks could rise to $6 trillion yearly by the end of 2021.

(Source: CPO Magazine)

According to cyber attacks on businesses statistics, back in 2015, the yearly cost of a cyber attack was set at $3trillion. In 2019, the average cost of a cyber attack was 3.92 million, and the average cost per record stolen was $141.

However, in countries like the US, the average cost of an individual record jumps to around $225. 

28. Global spending on cybersecurity is set to rise to $42 billion by the end of 2020.

(Source: Statista)

Worldwide cybersecurity spending hit $37 billion in 2018, up from the $34 billion recorded in 2017. This is predicted to grow even further.

29. 80% of mobile fraud is now being carried out through mobile apps.

(Source: RSA)

Some of the most popular mobile app categories responsible for the surge in mobile cyberattacks are tools/personalization (22.32%) and games (18.97%). Others include entertainment/shopping (15.76%), and communications (9.72%), and media players (9.23%).  

Reports show that 83% of organizations claim that their organization was at risk of mobile threats. Statistics on how many cyber attacks happen per day go further to inform us that mobile fraud has increased by more than 600% between 2015 and 2020.

Wrap Up

So, to give you a straight answer to how many cyber attacks per day would be kind of hard. But there are a lot of people out there who have dedicated their lives to getting people’s data and sabotaging businesses.

Hopefully, organizations will begin to spend more on cybersecurity to mitigate the growing severity of these attacks.