Most Affected Industries - Q1 2025

In Q1 2025, cyberattacks hit government, healthcare, education, retail, and industrial sectors, exposing critical data and straining defenses as attack surfaces and breach impacts escalated.

Aug 04, 2025

Welcome back to Hall of Hacks Weekly!

This quarter, cybercriminals targeted industries across the board, with government networks, hospitals, schools, and even crypto platforms under siege. The attack surface continues to expand, and the cost of compromise is climbing fast.

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Top 5 Most Targeted Industries

🏛️ Government – 86 Incidents

Governments globally faced nonstop cyber pressure. From local municipalities to national defense forces, attackers sought sensitive data and control. Notably, the Bangladesh Navy fell victim to Funksec, compromising the data of 50 million service members. These persistent intrusions are draining public sector resources and threatening national security.

🏥 Healthcare – 67 Incidents

Medical systems remain critically vulnerable. The New York Blood Center breach exposed 75M+ patient records, including personal health and donation history. The sector continues to struggle with outdated infrastructure and underfunded security teams.

🎓 Education & Research – 57 Incidents

Schools and research institutions were regularly compromised. Threat actors leveraged weak credentials and open networks to gain access, disrupting operations and exposing student and faculty data. The volume of incidents indicates that academic environments remain low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals.

🛒 Consumer Products & Retail – 40 Incidents

Retailers continue to face the dual threat of supply chain compromises and payment system intrusions. Attackers targeted everything from loyalty programs to online checkout systems. With consumer trust and PII at stake, retail breaches are becoming costlier to recover from.

🏗️ Engineering & Industrial – 39 Incidents

Manufacturing and infrastructure companies saw a rise in attacks targeting proprietary systems, designs, and operational tech. Often overlooked, this sector’s exposure is growing, especially with increased digitization and IoT integration.

🚨 High-Impact Outliers

While the top sectors suffered the most frequent attacks, other industries experienced massive one-off breaches that shook the cyber world:

Bybit Crypto Exchange

A cold-wallet compromise led to the theft of $1.5 billion in Ethereum, making it one of the largest digital asset heists ever recorded. This breach underscores the staggering risk tied to decentralized finance and unregulated custody solutions.

Meta / WhatsApp

A zero-click spyware campaign targeted 90+ journalists and civil society figures across Europe. The spyware, linked to Paragon Solutions (Israel), bypassed traditional user interaction, highlighting growing abuse of surveillance tech in geopolitically charged cyber espionage.

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🔍 What This Means for Security Teams

Focus on Frequency & Impact – Frequent attacks wear down defenses, but rare, high-impact incidents can be catastrophic. Balance your investments accordingly.
Healthcare Needs Urgent Help – The sector’s exposure remains dangerously high. Patch gaps, staff training, and segmentation are no longer optional.
Public Sector Is in a Constant Siege – Government systems require resilient incident response and threat intelligence sharing to counter continuous targeting.
Don’t Underestimate Retail & Industrial Risks – These sectors are deeply embedded in supply chains. A breach here doesn’t stay isolated, it has a tendency to ripple outward.

📈 What’s Next?

Attackers are shifting to new tools like QR code phishing (“quishing”), deepfake social engineering, and infostealer markets that automate credential theft. Expect cross-sector threats to intensify, especially in AI-driven attacks, cloud infrastructure exploits, and third-party compromise vectors.

📌 Coming Next Week

We're dropping the full Hall of Hacks Q1 2025 Edition

Your ultimate guide to everything cybersecurity this quarter. From the top headlines in finance and legal sectors to the most exploited vulnerabilities, rising threat groups, and defensive wins, stay tuned for the full detailed breakdown.

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