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Europes fall from cyber safety grace: why it is now among the worlds riskiest
cyber regions

Date:
Thu, 16 Oct 2025 14:11:29 +0000

Description:
Europe is now a central cybersecurity battleground where resilience must come
first.

FULL STORY
======================================================================
Europe has transitioned from being considered a relatively low risk cyber
region to one of the worlds most targeted environments. The shift has been
swift and severe. 

Once shielded by a perception of safety, the continent now finds itself at 
the heart of global cyber conflict. The ongoing war between Russia and 
Ukraine has spilt far beyond the battlefield, reshaping cyberattack patterns
and leaving European infrastructure and institutions exposed. 

In 2025, Poland now faces around 300 Russian cyberattack attempts daily, a
threefold increase compared to the previous year. 

In Norway, intelligence officials confirmed that Russian hackers recently
seized control of a dam in Bremanger, releasing torrents of water before
authorities intervened. 

NATO has simultaneously warned of a rise in state-linked cyberattacks against
European and Mediterranean port facilities, a sign that transport and energy
infrastructure are being drawn deeper into the firing line. 

As regional governments warn of increasing aggression, Europe faces a new
reality: the continent is no longer a peripheral target but a central
battleground where resilience must come first.

Hacktivists and state-sponsored groups

Hacktivist collectives are a prominent driver of this shift. Since 2022, one
pro-Russian group has claimed more than 6,600 attacks, with 96 percent aimed
at European targets ranging from government portals to airports and energy
providers. 

As recently as May, pro-Russian actors targeted multiple local councils in 
the UK, disrupting access to public services. 

Alongside these activities, state sponsored groups have escalated campaigns 
of espionage and sabotage. Security agencies across the West confirm that
Russian and allied intelligence units have substantially dialed up operations
against NATO members since the Ukraine invasion. 

The result has been a surge in high profile breaches, ransomware incidents,
and ideologically motivated attacks that have made clear the absence of
limits. European companies, hospitals, and public services are increasingly
treated as fair game.

Europe becomes a cyber hotbed 

The convergence of state and criminal threats created a uniquely volatile
landscape in 2024 and 2025. According to the OpenText Cybersecurity 2025
Threat Report, Europes malware infection rate is now three to four times
higher than that of the United States. 

Once considered among the safer regions, Europe has joined South America,
Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in the more risky category. Together, these
regions face six times the infection levels recorded in less risky areas. 

The same report also revealed that, across the globe, small and medium sized
businesses reported more ransomware incidents than larger enterprises. 

Europe is no exception: with higher infection rates, the regions SMBs face
heightened exposure as both softer entry points into broader supply chains 
and as victims in their own right.

Ransomware and extortion tactics 

The Warlock ransomware attack on Colt Technology Services illustrates the
changing nature of extortion in Europe. 

By compromising cryptographic keys and leaking gigabytes of data, the group
bypassed traditional lock and encrypt methods in favor of public exposure.
This mirrors the broader shift toward exfiltration-based attacks, with threat
actors stealing sensitive data to use as leverage. 

Our research found that nearly half of all ransomware victims paid the ransom
last year, despite a 97 percent success rate in data recovery. 

This contradiction reflects the changing nature of extortion, and for 
European organizations, this trend underscores the growing pressure that
reputational harm and regulatory penalties place on decision makers.

The regulatory push

The European Union has recognized the urgency of these threats and is
reinforcing resilience through regulation. 

The NIS2 Directive, which extends cyber requirements across 18 critical
sectors, is forcing organizations to rethink risk management and incident
reporting. 

Implementation remains uneven, particularly in healthcare and transport, but
the framework is already raising baseline expectations. 

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which came into force in
January 2025, is another significant milestone. 

It introduces strict ICT risk management and resilience testing for the
financial sector and its third-party providers. 

For healthcare, the European Commissions new action plan promises an EU-wide
cybersecurity support center and coordinated early warning systems by 2026. 

These initiatives demonstrate that resilience is no longer optional. It is 
now a regulatory and strategic necessity.

Moving from attempted prevention to focused resilience

Attackers continue to innovate and adapt, leaving European organizations with
no choice but to embed resilience into their security frameworks. 

Preventive measures remain essential, but the inevitability of human error,
zero-day vulnerabilities, and advanced social engineering means no system can
block every threat. 

The priority must shift toward resilience. Organizations should prepare for
breaches, not just attempt to stop them. 

This requires rapid recovery capabilities that enable security teams to 
detect infections early, isolate them, and restore critical operations 
without crippling disruption. 

The practice of running tabletop simulations across all departments is one of
the most effective ways to identify gaps and build confidence in recovery
plans. 

Europes cyber landscape has changed fundamentally. No longer a lower risk
environment, it has become one of the most contested regions in the world. 

Hacktivists, state sponsored actors, and ransomware groups are converging on
its infrastructure and institutions with unprecedented intensity. Our 
findings underline the scale of this challenge. 

The path forward is not to expect perfect protection but to embrace 
resilience as the cornerstone of defense. With the right strategies,
leadership, and regulatory frameworks, Europe can move from being a target of
opportunity to a model of cyber resilience. 

 This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel
where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry
today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not
necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in
contributing find out more here:
https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/europes-fall-from-cyber-safety-grace-why-it-is-n
ow-among-the-worlds-riskiest-cyber-regions
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