Organizations in the health sector are the most targeted by cybercriminals, with an average of 2,620 weekly attacks in the second quarter of 2025, according to Check Point Software Technologies. This trend is in an overall increase of 17 % of cyber attacks against Belgian organizations in one year.
The strong pressure on the health care sector is explained in particular by often under-funded security systems and a large amount of sensitive data on patients and staff, “said Check Point Software Technologies.” Financial institutions also remain privileged targets due to the confidential nature of their data “.
Cyberattacks against Belgian companies come mainly from the United States (42%). One in ten has been launched from Belgium.
The most common malware in Belgium is Fakeupdates, downloaded software. About 63 % of malicious files are transmitted by e-mail, compared to 37 % via the web. Remote code execution is the most frequent type of vulnerability (69%).
At European level, Luxembourg experienced the highest increase (+59 %, with 1,862 attacks/week). Follow the Netherlands (+50 %, with 1,144 attacks/week).
“The attack patterns in Europe are becoming more sophisticated, more targeted and are increasingly suitable locally,” explains Lieven Van Rentergem, Security Expert at Check Point Software. “We observe a clear transition between conventional ransomware and techniques based on theft of information or the use of AI. In the second quarter, it is not the massive leaks that dominate, but the silent attacks that allow access to networks, cloud services or identifiers, often without the companies immediately noticing it”.
Globally, organizations have undergone an average of 1,984 cyber attacks per week, an increase of 21 % compared to the same period in 2024, and 58 % compared to two years earlier.
No sector is spared, but education is the most affected with 4,388 attacks per organization and per week (+31 % in one year). The public sector arrives in second position with 2,632 attacks per week ( +26 %), while telecommunications record the highest proportional increase: +38 %, with 2,612 attacks per week. This development is explained by their growing dependence on digital infrastructure and their public exhibition, which makes it ideal targets for cybercriminals.
Finally, it should be noted that in the second quarter of 2025, phishing campaigns gained in sophistication, with cybercriminals posing for brands known via false sites or emails. Microsoft (25 %) is the most usurped brand, ahead of Google (11 %), Apple (9 %), Spotify (6 %), Adobe (4 %), Linkedin (3 %), Amazon (2 %), Booking (2 %), Whatsapp (2 %) and Facebook (2 %).
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