Datastream
The Most Significant Cyber Attacks from 2006-2020, by Country
The Briefing
- From 2006 to 2020, the U.S. experienced 156 significant cyber attacks—more than the UK, India, and Germany combined
- A “significant” cyber attack refers to a hack into a country’s government agency, a defense or high-tech company, or a crime with losses of more than $1M
Significant Cyber Attacks from 2006-2020, by Country
Committing a cyber crime can have serious consequences. In the U.S., a cyber criminal can receive up to 20 years in prison for hacking into a government institution if it compromises national security.
Yet, despite the consequences, cyber criminals continue to wreak havoc across the globe. But some countries seem to be targeted more than others.
Using data from Specops Software, this graphic looks at the countries that have experienced the most significant cyber attacks over the last two decades.
Rank | Country / Region | Number of Significant Cyber Attacks (2006-2020) |
---|---|---|
1 | 🇺🇸 United States | 156 |
2 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 47 |
3 | 🇮🇳 India | 23 |
4 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 21 |
5 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 18 |
6 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 16 |
7 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 16 |
8 | 🇨🇳 China | 15 |
9 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 15 |
10 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 15 |
11 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 13 |
12 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 12 |
13 | 🇫🇷 France | 11 |
14 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 11 |
15 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 9 |
16 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 8 |
17 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 7 |
18 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 6 |
19 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 6 |
20 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 5 |
The U.S. comes in first place, with 156 recorded cyber attacks. That’s an average of 11 significant attacks per year, which is more than Russia’s had in 14 years.
What are the Most Common Types?
While there are many different types of cyber attacks, Specops highlights the four most commonly used for significant cyber crimes:
- Structured Query Language (SQL) Injection Attack
SQL is the code used to communicate with a database. In an SQL injection attack, the hacker writes vindictive SQL code and inserts it into a victim’s database, in order to access private information. - A man-in-the-middle (MitM)
This form of attack happens when a cyber criminal hacks into a communication channel between two people, and eavesdrops on their online exchanges. - Phishing Attack
When a cyber criminal poses as a legitimate institution and emails a victim to gain personal details like login credentials, home address, credit card information. - Denial of Service Attack (DoS)
This involves flooding a victim’s system with traffic, to the point where their network is inaccessible. The hacker doesn’t gain any valuable information from this style of attack.
»Like this? Here’s another article you might enjoy: The 15 Biggest Data Breaches in the Last 15 Years
Where does this data come from?
Source: Specops Software
Details: Report is based on each entry made by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in their record of significant cyber-attacks between May 2006 and June 2020.
Datastream
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Using data from the UN, this chart shows civilian death toll figures resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Briefing
- In total, since the war began in February there have been over 7,031 Ukrainian civilian deaths
- Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons, such as missiles and heavy artillery
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has wrought suffering and death on a mass scale, with many Russian attacks targeted at civilians.
We’ve created this visual using data from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to better understand how many civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as how many were injured and how many were children.
The Numbers
As of early December, it is reported that 7,031 people in Ukraine have died because of the war — 433 of them children. Another 11,327 have been injured, 827 of which are children. In total, this is over 18,000 people killed or injured.
The figures are difficult to verify due to differing reports coming out of both Russia and Ukraine. The UN OHCHR anticipates that the numbers could be even higher.
The State of the Conflict
The war began on February 24th, 2022 and less than a year in, millions of people have been displaced by the conflict, and thousands of civilians have been injured or killed.
According to the UN, most of the civilian deaths have been caused by wide-ranging explosives such as heavy artillery shelling, missiles, and air strikes, and have been concentrated in Donetsk and Luhansk and in other territory still held by Ukraine.
Additionally, new estimates from Kyiv report approximately 13,000 Ukrainian military or soldier deaths, which has yet to be confirmed by the army.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights monthly reports on civilian deaths in Ukraine.
Note: Data on deaths and injuries can vary wildly depending on the source.
-
Markets2 weeks ago
The Biggest Global Risks of 2023
-
Markets4 weeks ago
Top Heavy: Countries by Share of the Global Economy
-
Politics1 week ago
Visualizing the World’s Top 25 Fleets of Combat Tanks
-
Money4 weeks ago
U.S. Inflation: How Much Have Prices Increased?
-
Energy1 week ago
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2013-2022)
-
Misc4 weeks ago
Infographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles
-
Politics1 week ago
Which Countries are the Most Polarized?
-
Markets3 weeks ago
The U.S. Stock Market: Best and Worst Performing Sectors in 2022