According to a critical infrastructure cyberattack report, almost 60% of attacks are led by state-affiliated actors. Additionally, 33% are enabled by internal personnel. Threat actors are most intensely focused on the energy sector (39% of attacks) at over three times more than the next most frequently attacked verticals, critical manufacturing (11%) and transportation (10%).
Phishing remains the most popular attack technique (34%), underscoring the importance of cybersecurity tactics such as segmentation, air gapping, zero trust and security awareness training to mitigate risks. More than 80% of threat actors come from outside organizations, yet insiders play an unintentional role in opening the door for threat actors in approximately one-third of incidents.