Analysis: The number of cyberattacks on Czech banks increased 5 times in the last year, with 131 incidents recorded last year

The number of cyberattacks or serious threats directed at Czech banking institutions reached 131 last year. This is the highest number in history, compared to 26 in 2022, and it increased fivefold. This is mainly due to the effects of the geopolitical tensions related to the war in Ukraine. Additionally, the analysts suggest that a high number of cyberattacks must also be expected in the future. The report comes from Analytics Data Factory, which focuses on real-time fraud prevention, and Semantic Visions, specialized in evaluating data from global media.

“Cyberattacks on banks are most intense during various holidays or large seasonal sales – generally when people use electronic payments the most. At the same time, it is also closely related to international conflicts,” says Jiří Mojžíš, CTO of Analytics Data Factory, specialising in the management and use of company data, including fraud management. 

“We must admit that last year set a new standard for the number of cyber security threats banks have to deal with. Previously, these numbers were significantly lower. This year, too, we expect a further increase in cyber threats and, in particular, in the use of more sophisticated types of attacks,” adds Mojžíš.

“The number of cyberattacks and threats concerning the Czech banking sector peaked last year. There could have been even more threats and attacks, some of which might have been not reported to the media. Our platform analyses data from news articles globally, including the Czech Republic, and we detect specific event types using AI. Based on the large volume of data, we can monitor trends such as this one and compare the individual trends by countries too,” says Julius Rusnák, COO of Semantic Visions, a technology company dealing with data analysis and risk detection.

Significant attacks or threats on twelve institutions were recorded last year, including all larger commercial banks and the Czech National Bank. The majority of cases (36) represented “just” a significant cybersecurity threat. There were 34 instances of criminal offences related to computer crime – this type of incident previously formed the majority of recorded events a year earlier. In 22 cases, there were illegal breaches of security by hackers. Additionally, 19 DDoS attacks were recorded – their number increased several times compared to 2022. Only a few instances were counted for phishing attacks, malware penetrations, and other threats last year. Some events represented a combination of the aforementioned categories.