A new ZIUR report highlights Spain's disappearance from the list of the 10 countries most attacked by hacktivism

A new ZIUR report highlights Spain's disappearance from the list of the 10 countries most attacked by hacktivism

ZIUR has published a new Industrial Cyber ​​Intelligence report highlighting Spain's disappearance from the list of the 10 countries most attacked by hacktivism. While the document for the first quarter of 2025 warned of a "drastic increase" in the number of attacks recorded against state entities, the report for the second quarter of the year indicates that Spain is no longer among the European countries most attacked by this type of hostile actors.

During this period, hacktivism has increased in Europe compared to previous periods, with 2,518 successful denial-of-service attacks targeting different countries. The most affected countries were Poland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom, in first, second, and third place, respectively, followed by France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Lithuania, Romania, and Israel. Regarding Spain, despite not having experienced a large number of attacks, the majority have focused on food, water treatment, and power plants.

“At the European level, increased activity by hacktivist groups has been detected, although constant efforts to shut down their distribution channels such as Telegram have hampered attacks. However, a much greater trend toward attacks on critical infrastructure has been observed,” notes María Penilla, general director of ZIUR, the Industrial Cybersecurity Center of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. Among the most affected sectors among European organizations are government and energy, which is consistent with the motivation of hacktivist groups.

More advanced attacks have been detected, including intrusions into industrial control systems (ICS), data breaches, and unauthorized access. Attacks on ICS accounted for 31% of hacktivist incidents this quarter, an increase of 29% compared to the previous period. In this regard, groups linked to Russia have stood out, maintaining a coordinated campaign, with particular emphasis on the European energy sector.

Double the Ransomware Attacks

Although Spain has disappeared from the list of countries most affected by attacks carried out by hacktivist groups, the number of reported ransomware incidents has doubled, with 38 confirmed cases. The most affected sectors continue to be manufacturing, healthcare, education, and construction, with an unusual increase in attacks on the technology sector, according to the document prepared by ZIUR.

Finally, a slight increase in the publication of vulnerabilities has been detected, reaching a total of 12,289.

You can read the full report here.