Decade-old vulnerabilities continue to fuel millions of cyberattacks in the UK

Coverage from Tech Radar indicates that organizations across the United Kingdom are still operating computer systems with security vulnerabilities that were first identified over ten years ago, with cybercriminals actively exploiting these weaknesses.

Cybercriminals are leveraging outdated and unpatched systems, with a single vulnerability in Hikvision IP cameras reportedly accounting for 67 million attack attempts in the UK during 2025, according to SonicWall. This highlights a trend where attackers exploit known, ignored weaknesses rather than relying on sophisticated zero-day exploits. Despite a significant drop in overall ransomware volume, the number of successful compromises rose by 20%, indicating attackers are achieving more damage per breach.

Smaller organizations are disproportionately affected, with ransomware present in 88% of SMB breaches. The increasing use of AI tools is also accelerating attacks, with AI-enabled attacks rising by 89% due to bots scanning networks at an unprecedented scale. To combat this, organizations are advised to inventory and patch old devices, replace unpatchable hardware, implement network segmentation, and regularly test firewalls.

Source: Tech Radar