Top 10 Industries Targeted By Cybercriminals In 2025

Key Takeaways:

• The three most targeted industries are Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Financial Services, driven by high data value and operational urgency.
• Attackers relied on ransomware, phishing, supply-chain breaches, and credential theft across most sectors.
• Industries with legacy systems or high transaction volumes experienced the fastest-growing threat activity.
• Organizations can reduce exposure by strengthening identity controls, monitoring attack surfaces, and adopting intelligence-driven security tools.

What Are the Top Three Most Targeted Industries?

1. Healthcare

Healthcare is targeted more than any other sector because attackers can monetize patient records and exploit outdated clinical systems that lack modern security controls. The combination of legacy infrastructure and critical service availability makes healthcare highly vulnerable to extortion-driven attacks.

2. Manufacturing

Manufacturing attracts cybercriminals due to interconnected OT–IT environments that create hidden vulnerabilities across production lines. Attackers exploit these gaps to disrupt operations and supply chains, knowing that downtime creates strong leverage for ransom demands.

3. Financial Services

Financial services face continuous targeting because they store high-value identity data and process sensitive monetary transactions across digital platforms. Criminals use credential theft, phishing, and malware to bypass defenses and exploit the expanding landscape of online banking and fintech services.

Why Are Certain Industries Targeted More Than Others?

Industries are targeted based on data value, operational urgency, and the ease of exploiting vulnerabilities.

• High Data: Sectors storing sensitive records attract data-theft campaigns.
• Critical Services: Attackers exploit downtime pressure in healthcare, energy, and government.
• Legacy Systems: Outdated infrastructure increases breach likelihood.
• High Transactions: Retail and finance face constant fraud attempts.
• Supply Chains: Manufacturing and logistics suffer from vendor-based infiltration.

What Are the Top 10 Industries Targeted by Cybercriminals in 2025?

1. Healthcare

Healthcare remains a prime target due to its sensitive patient data and operational urgency. Attackers exploit outdated medical systems and fragmented networks.

Threats:

• Ransomware Surge: Encrypting records and halting patient care
• Data Theft: Stealing personal and medical files
• Phishing Attacks: Impersonating staff to gain internal access

Mitigation Approach:

Healthcare systems can reduce risk by segmenting networks and securing legacy systems. Regular patching and multi-factor authentication further strengthen overall resilience.

2. Manufacturing

Manufacturers face rising attacks because production halts create high leverage. Their OT/IT convergence exposes many weak access points.

Threats:

• Operational Disruption: Attacks on industrial control systems
• Ransomware Lockdowns: Halting production lines
• Supply-Chain Breach: Compromising vendors to enter plants

Mitigation Approach:

Manufacturers benefit from isolating operational technology and securing vendor access. Continuous monitoring of industrial systems also reduces hidden vulnerabilities.

3. Financial Services

Financial institutions handle money and identity data, making them lucrative targets. Attackers seek direct monetary gain through fraud and account takeovers.

Threats:

• Credential Theft: Stealing login and banking details
• Payment Fraud: Manipulating transactions
• Phishing Scams: Tricking users into giving sensitive information

Mitigation Approach:

Financial firms strengthen protection by enforcing strong authentication and real-time fraud detection. Behavioral analytics further helps identify suspicious activity quickly.

4. Retail & E-Commerce

Retailers face high attack volumes due to constant online transactions. Cybercriminals exploit checkout systems and customer accounts.

Threats:

• Account Takeover: Hijacking shopper profiles
• POS Malware: Stealing payment card data
• Bot Abuse: Automated attacks on login and checkout flows

Mitigation Approach:

Retailers can enhance security with bot management, strong authentication, and secure payment gateways. Regular audits of third-party integrations also reduce exposure.

5. Technology & IT

Tech companies store intellectual property and support massive user ecosystems. Attackers aim to infiltrate their platforms for wider exploitation.

Threats:

• API Abuse: Exploiting unsecured endpoints
• Supply-Chain Tampering: Infecting software pipelines
• Developer Phishing: Targeting engineers for access keys

Mitigation Approach:

Tech firms improve safety by tightening API controls and securing build environments. Access governance and key rotation also limit unauthorized entry.

6. Government & Public Sector

Government agencies manage essential citizen services and sensitive databases. Attackers target them to cause disruption and extract strategic information.

Threats:

• DDoS Flooding: Overloading public portals
• Ransomware Impact: Disabling administrative services
• Data Exposure: Breaching confidential citizen records

Mitigation Approach:

Upgrading legacy infrastructure and enforcing strict identity controls enhances protection. Agencies benefit from continuous monitoring to detect early intrusion attempts.

7. Energy & Utilities

Energy systems power national infrastructure, making them high-impact targets. Attackers focus on causing operational instability and long downtime.

Threats:

• SCADA Intrusions: Accessing control systems
• Persistent Access: Maintaining long-term footholds
• Grid Disruption: Interrupting power operations

Mitigation Approach:

Energy operators strengthen defenses by isolating critical systems and monitoring for unusual activity. Partnering with threat-intelligence services also improves early detection.

8. Education

Schools and universities face rising attacks due to limited budgets and large user networks. Research institutions are additionally targeted for intellectual property.

Threats:

• Phishing Waves: Targeting students and staff
• Ransomware Hits: Locking academic systems
• Account Compromise: Exploiting weak passwords

Mitigation Approach:

Educational institutions can improve safety through MFA adoption and awareness training. Strengthening access controls for remote learning platforms also lowers risk.

9. Transportation & Logistics

Transportation providers rely on real-time digital coordination, making disruptions costly. Attackers exploit system interconnectivity to maximize impact.

Threats:

• Route Manipulation: Interfering with operations
• Ransomware Delays: Halting logistics processes
• Vendor Breach: Exploiting third-party service providers

Mitigation Approach:

Organizations safeguard operations by segmenting network layers and monitoring supply-chain dependencies. Automated alerts help detect anomalies in routing systems.

10. Professional Services & SMBs

SMBs and service firms lack advanced cybersecurity resources, making them frequent targets. Attackers exploit weak authentication and outdated tools.

Threats:

• Email Compromise: Impersonating executives
• Social Engineering: Manipulating employees
• Data Exposure: Leaking client information

Mitigation Approach:

Small businesses benefit from adopting low-cost security layers like MFA and endpoint protection. Regular backups and staff training further reduce breach impact.

What Threats Are Most Common and How Can Organizations Resolve Them?

Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware encrypts systems and steals data to pressure victims into paying. Organizations can reduce risk by enforcing MFA, segmenting networks, and maintaining offline backups.

Phishing & Social Engineering

Phishing remains the easiest way for attackers to steal credentials. Training programs and email security filters significantly lower success rates.

Supply-Chain Exploits

Attackers compromise vendors to access larger targets. Regular third-party assessments and continuous external attack surface monitoring reduce this exposure.

Credential Theft & Account Takeover

Weak or reused passwords make breaches easier. Strong authentication, password policies, and monitoring tools help prevent unauthorized access.

How Can Organizations Protect Themselves in 2025?

Modern organizations must strengthen cybersecurity posture through layered, proactive defense strategies.

• Zero Trust: Verify all access at every step.
• MFA Everywhere: Reduce credential-based breaches.
• XDR Visibility: Detects threats across endpoints and cloud.
• Patch Hygiene: Fix exploitable vulnerabilities quickly.
• Backup Strategy: Maintain offline backups to counter ransomware.
• Security Training: Prepare employees against phishing attempts.
• Vendor Security: Assess third-party systems regularly.

FAQs About Cyberattacks by Industry

Which industry suffered the most breaches in 2025?

Healthcare experienced the highest number of breaches due to its valuable data and aging infrastructure. Attackers exploited these weaknesses for ransomware and extortion.

Why do cybercriminals target manufacturing so heavily?

Manufacturing operations cannot afford downtime, giving attackers leverage. OT systems are also harder to secure, creating easy entry points.

What makes financial institutions attractive to attackers?

They store money, identity data, and payment information. This makes them high-reward environments for credential theft and fraud.

Are SMBs at high risk of cyberattacks?

Yes, SMBs are frequently targeted because they lack dedicated security teams. Their slower response times increase attacker success.

What role does employee behavior play in cyber incidents?

Human error is still a major cause of breaches. Training and awareness programs drastically reduce this risk.

How Does CloudSEK Help Organizations Strengthen Cybersecurity?

CloudSEK provides continuous AI-driven threat intelligence by monitoring an organization’s external digital footprint across surface, deep, and dark web sources. This real-time detection helps identify data leaks, exposed credentials, brand impersonation, and targeted threats earlier.

Its external attack surface monitoring (EASM) platform automatically maps internet-facing assets such as domains, APIs, cloud instances, and shadow IT. CloudSEK then flags misconfigurations or vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them for initial access.

When risks are discovered, CloudSEK delivers contextual alerts with clear remediation actions based on severity and exploitability. This reduces investigation time and strengthens incident response by enabling faster, more accurate decision-making.

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