Check Point: UK Firms Hit By Over 1,500 Cyber Attacks A Week As Ransomware Nearly Doubles Globally

UK Cyberattacks Surge as Global Threat Landscape Intensifies in August 2026

UK organisations faced an average of 1,571 cyberattacks per week in August 2026, marking a 14% year-on-year increase, according to Check Point’s latest threat intelligence report. While below the global average of 2,422 weekly attacks per organisation, the figures confirm the UK remains a prime target, with education, energy and utilities, media and entertainment, government, and software sectors bearing the brunt of activity.

Globally, cyberattacks rose 4% month-on-month and 22% year-on-year, driven by escalating ransomware, phishing, and GenAI-related data exposure risks. The education sector remained the most targeted worldwide, averaging 5,354 weekly attacks a 28% annual increase while government (3,067 attacks/week) and hospitality, travel, and recreation (3,056 attacks/week, up 56%) followed. Latin America recorded the highest attack volume (3,577 weekly attacks), but Europe saw the fastest growth (28% year-on-year), signalling a shift toward mature digital economies.

GenAI adoption continued to climb, with the average enterprise user generating 106 prompts in August up from 95 in July while high-risk prompts (those exposing sensitive data) fell to one in 43. However, 86% of organisations using GenAI still experienced high-risk activity, with healthcare (4% of prompts), software (3.6%), and business services (3.5%) most affected. Exposed data primarily included network/IT infrastructure details, financial records, and legal/regulatory information, highlighting AI’s expanding role in core business operations.

Phishing and ransomware attacks also surged. One in 112 emails was classified as phishing in August (up from one in 128 in July), with 72% containing malicious links and 14% carrying infected attachments. Ransomware incidents nearly doubled year-on-year, reaching 1,042 global attacks an 8% increase from July. Business services (36% of attacks), industrial manufacturing (13%), and consumer goods (12%) were the hardest-hit sectors, with the UK among the most affected countries, behind the US, Germany, and Italy. The Qilin ransomware group led activity (15% of attacks), followed by The Gentlemen (10%) and the emerging Orova group (4%), which targeted small and mid-sized businesses.

Check Point’s Barnaby Nickels warned that the convergence of rising attack volumes, ransomware acceleration, and AI-driven risks demands proactive threat detection and faster remediation, as attackers exploit vulnerabilities with increasing speed. The report underscores a global shift toward prevention-first security strategies to counter evolving threats across users, email, networks, cloud, and AI tools.

Source: https://techround.co.uk/cybersecurity/uk-firms-hit-1500-cyber-attacks-week-ransomware-doubles-globally/

Check Point TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/check-point-software-technologies

"id": "che1789187075",
"linkid": "check-point-software-technologies",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "9/2026",
"severity": "",
"impact": "",
"explanation": "N/A (Not a victim, reporter of the incident)"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': ['education',
                                     'energy_and_utilities',
                                     'media_and_entertainment',
                                     'government',
                                     'software',
                                     'business_services',
                                     'industrial_manufacturing',
                                     'consumer_goods',
                                     'healthcare'],
                        'location': 'UK',
                        'type': 'sector'},
                       {'location': ['Latin America', 'Europe'],
                        'type': 'region'}],
 'attack_vector': ['malicious_links', 'infected_attachments', 'GenAI_prompts'],
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'high',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['network/IT infrastructure '
                                              'details',
                                              'financial records',
                                              'legal/regulatory information']},
 'date_detected': '2026-08',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2026-08',
 'description': 'UK organisations faced an average of 1,571 cyberattacks per '
                'week in August 2026, marking a 14% year-on-year increase. '
                'Global cyberattacks rose 4% month-on-month and 22% '
                'year-on-year, driven by escalating ransomware, phishing, and '
                'GenAI-related data exposure risks. The education sector was '
                'the most targeted globally, while Europe saw the fastest '
                'growth in attack volume.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['network/IT infrastructure details',
                                 'financial records',
                                 'legal/regulatory information']},
 'lessons_learned': 'The convergence of rising attack volumes, ransomware '
                    'acceleration, and AI-driven risks demands proactive '
                    'threat detection and faster remediation.',
 'motivation': ['financial_gain', 'data_exfiltration'],
 'ransomware': {'data_encryption': True,
                'data_exfiltration': True,
                'ransomware_strain': ['Qilin', 'The Gentlemen', 'Orova']},
 'recommendations': 'Adopt prevention-first security strategies to counter '
                    'evolving threats across users, email, networks, cloud, '
                    'and AI tools.',
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2026-08',
                 'source': 'Check Point’s latest threat intelligence report'}],
 'threat_actor': ['Qilin ransomware group', 'The Gentlemen', 'Orova group'],
 'title': 'UK Cyberattacks Surge as Global Threat Landscape Intensifies in '
          'August 2026',
 'type': ['ransomware', 'phishing', 'data_exposure']}