According to the report, Russian state-sponsored threat actors targeted the United States in 55% of their cyber attacks. Organisations and government agencies in the United Kingdom were a target in 8% of cyber attacks. Furthermore, 3% of attacks originating in Russia were directed at Canada.

The Atlas VPN team says that even though Russia started a full-on war against Ukraine, only 2% of their cyber attacks targeted the country. Switzerland was also a target in 2% of Russian cyber attacks. At the same time, attacks on other Western countries and Baltic states made up 27% of all state-sponsored attacks.

Cyber security writer at Atlas VPN Vilius Kardelis shares his thoughts on Russia-based cyber attacks: “While there is no concrete evidence that Russia-based cyber criminal groups cooperate with Kremlin, there is a clear narrative about who is the enemy. While Russia’s war in Ukraine is continuing, organizations and governments of Western countries have to stay sharp against possible attacks.”

Most targeted industries

The company has identified that state-sponsored hackers usually target specific industries to create as much chaos as possible. The information technology industry was the target in 29% of Russian-sponsored attacks. Russian-sponsored state threat actors launched 18% of their attacks on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In addition, 12% of cyber attacks originating in Russia targeted government agencies and services.

It goes on to say that Russian hackers targeted 12% of their cyber attacks on education organisations. Furthermore, 5% of cyber attacks originating in Russia were launched at financial service institutions. Finally, cyber criminals affiliated with Russia carried out 24% of attacks on other types of industries.