Executive Summary: Mid-Year Update to the 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report

Cybercriminals showed a preference for quieter attacks in the first half of 2023, shifting from or augmenting ransomware with cryptojacking, IoT malware and encrypted threats. Feeling the heat from increased enforcement efforts, high-profile busts and heightened security in the U.S., threat actors are also moving their attacks to new shores, and are splitting their attention between large, high-profile targets potentially offering an outsized payday, and soft targets such as educational organizations. While the resulting threat landscape is one in a state of change, SonicWall has and will continue to track these threats and trends throughout the latter half of 2023 and beyond.