RANSOMWARE

Check Point Research reports a rise in global cyberattacks during June 2026, with ransomware activity increasing and Education remaining the most targeted sector.

lobal cyberattacks increased during

June 2026, with organisations experiencing an average of 2,270 attacks per week, according to Check Point Research. The company’ s latest threat intelligence report found this represented a 10 % increase compared with May and a 17 % rise year on year, indicating a broad resurgence in attacker activity after a quieter period.

According to the report, the increase was not confined to a single industry or region. Instead, attack volumes rose across multiple sectors and geographies, suggesting threat actors are broadening their targeting strategies.

“ June’ s data shows a broad rebound in cyber activity, not a single isolated spike,” said Mark Mitchell, Security Engineer, Check Point Software.“ Attackers are widening their reach across regions and industries, while ransomware groups continue to reorganise and scale. The rise of The Gentlemen to the top of the ransomware leaderboard is a clear reminder that new operators can rapidly become major global threats. Organisations need prevention-first, AI-driven security that protects networks, users, data and AI workflows before attacks can cause impact.”

Regionally, Latin America remained the most targeted area, averaging 3,501 weekly attacks, followed by Asia-Pacific( APAC) with 3,060 and Africa with 3,008. Europe and North America also recorded year-on-year increases of 22 % and 14 % respectively, reinforcing the global nature of the increase.

The report also highlights the security implications of increasing enterprise adoption of Generative AI. Check Point found that one in every 26 prompts submitted from corporate networks carried a high risk of exposing sensitive information, representing a global exposure rate of 3.9 %. Healthcare and Medical organisations recorded the highest exposure levels, followed by Telecommunications, Business Services and Information Technology.

Ransomware activity also continued to rise. Check Point recorded 646 ransomware attacks during June, representing a 33 % increase compared with the same month in 2025. Business Services accounted for almost one-third of reported victims, while Consumer Goods and Services and Industrial Manufacturing were also heavily affected. Government organisations also represented a growing share of ransomware victims.

The report also highlights a shift in the ransomware landscape. The Gentlemen became the most active ransomware group during June, accounting for 17 % of published attacks and overtaking Qilin, while LockBit increased its activity to account for 7 % of published attacks. According to Check Point, the rapid emergence of new Ransomwareas-a-Service operators demonstrates how quickly affiliates can reorganise and scale their operations, reinforcing the need for organisations to strengthen cyber-resilience as the threat landscape continues to evolve.

Education remained the most targeted industry worldwide, with schools, colleges and universities experiencing an average of 4,816 cyberattacks each week during June. Check Point said this represented a 16 % increase compared with the same month last year. Government was the second most targeted sector, recording 2,836 weekly attacks, followed closely by Telecommunications with 2,835.

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