Cyberattacks persist at consistently high rate in Q1 2025
UK businesses experienced an average of 183,221 cyberattacks each during the first quarter of 2025. Although most online attacks are detected and blocked at a network level or by company firewalls, this was the most challenging start to the year on record. This quarter saw the highest number of Q1 threats in the nine years Beaming has analysed data, with companies connected to the internet facing an attempted breach of their network approximately every 43 seconds.
Remote controlled IoT devices remain most targeted
A key area of concern remains the vulnerability of IoT devices. Beaming’s analysis consistently shows these devices are prime target for cyber threats to enter business networks. We observed on average IoT devices such as, security cameras, building control systems and other connected equipment were targeted 178 times per day in Q1 2025. Web applications and databases were also attractive targets, with corporate websites and online services being targeted around 46 times per day each.
Attacks originate across the globe with China still most prominent
Over 20% of all unique attacking IP addresses originate from China, which is a 5% decrease on the previous quarter. India accounts for 15% of threats and notably unique IP address from the USA has seen an 16% increase since the final quarter of 2024, accounting for 9% of threats.
Sonia Blizzard, Managing Director of Beaming, commented: ‘The digital world presents incredible opportunities, but it is not without significant risk. UK businesses cannot afford to be complacent and assess potential vulnerabilities when implementing new technology. We recommend that firewalls are well managed and regularly updated, employee training is ongoing, and robust cybersecurity tools are in place to minimise risks.”
See the top 10 countries where attacks have originated since 2018 in this visual.
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Beaming has analysed cyberattacks in real-time targeting thousands of UK-based businesses since the beginning of 2016 to better understand their nature and origin. From this, we can calculate the average number of attacks businesses receive and use the analysis results to help organisations improve their cyber security.
Data visualisations created using Flourish