During the first six months of 2023, more than 2.7 billion malware attempts were recorded globally, down just 2% from 2.8bn the previous year, found research by SonicWall Capture Labs.

Cybercriminals have continued to shift their sights to new areas, which resulted in fewer malware attacks in North America, and more in Europe.

In June, the total volume of malware attempts peaked at 576m. Not only was this 46% higher than the 395m hits in January, but it was also the highest monthly malware total recorded since March 2020.

Malware is a blanket term for any kind of computer software designed to disrupt a computer, server or network.