Global Cyberattacks Surge to Record Levels in First Half of Year
An updated 2026 assessment by Italy’s information security association Clusit, presented in Verona, documented 4,911 serious incidents worldwide between January and June. This represented a 71% increase compared with the same period last year and a 105% rise from the previous six-month period.
The incidents recorded during the first half of the year amounted to 93% of the total documented throughout 2025, averaging 819 cases every month.
Italy registered a different trend in terms of overall numbers, with reported incidents declining to 245 from 280 in the first half of 2025. The country accounted for approximately 5% of the global total. However, the proportion of Italian incidents categorized as “high” severity increased by almost 20 percentage points, reaching 57%.
Manufacturing emerged as Italy’s most heavily affected industry as cybercrime targeting businesses for financial gain expanded. Meanwhile, hacktivism — the use of hacking to promote political, social or ideological objectives — became less prevalent.
Malware was responsible for 43% of incidents recorded in Italy, compared with 22.7% in 2025.
Researchers at Clusit suggested that stronger security practices and improved defenses, introduced following Italy’s cybersecurity legislation and the European Union’s NIS2 regulations, may have contributed to the reduction in hacktivist activity.
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