Most public sector-aimed cyberattacks tied to hacktivist-led DDoS

Almost 60% of cyberattacks against organizations across the public sector in 2024 were distributed denial-of-service intrusions, a majority of which had been conducted by hacktivist operations, Infosecurity Magazine reports.

Municipal websites and government ministry portals were the leading target of DDoS attacks, findings from an ENISA report showed. However, data-related incidents, which were the second most prevalent threat against the sector, proved to be more damaging. The report also found that RansomHub, LockBit 3.0, and 8Base were the most common ransomware variants affecting the industry.

Effectively combating increasingly prevalent cybersecurity threats requires the implementation of content delivery networks and web application firewalls, multi-factor authentication, privileged access management, data loss prevention, and endpoint detection and response, as well as network segmentation and routine data backups, according to ENISA.

"Public administrations provide reliable and effective public services, so it is essential to ensure a high-level of cybersecurity within their wider network of national, regional, and local bodies," said ENISA Executive Director Juhan Lepassaar.