New Armis data shows a continuing lack of widespread awareness of major cyberattacks like Colonial Pipeline. This proves an ongoing, dangerous cyber knowledge gap.

Armis surveyed more than 2,000 professionals in various industries from across the United States in May. It found that end users are not paying attention to the major cyberattacks plaguing operational technology and critical infrastructure across the country. That signals the importance of businesses prioritizing a focus on security as employees return to the office.

Ransomware Surge

In the past year, there were 65,000 ransomware attacks in the U.S. That equates to about seven attacks per hour, a rate you can expect to continue rising. As the United States looks at its vulnerable industries, the responsibility is falling on businesses to ensure that they are keeping the organization and employees safe and secure.

Moreover, ransomware has hit health care in a major way, according to Armis data. Hackers attacked Scripps Health’s technology systems and a chain of Las Vegas hospitals. Despite the spotlight on these attacks, the data show many consumers are simply not taking notice. Therefore, the responsibility of security falls on the businesses themselves.

Armis’ Curtis Simpson

Curtis Simpson is Armis‘ CISO.

“The attacks on our critical infrastructure are clear evidence of the need for cybersecurity and assurance to all our utility providers and players,” he said. “It is also an unfortunate example of the huge vulnerability of an aging infrastructure that has been connected, directly or indirectly, to the internet. Organizations must be able to know what they have, track behavior, identify threats and immediately take action to protect the safety and security of their operations. This data shows that there is less consumer attention on these attacks as we might expect. And so that responsibility falls to businesses to shore up their defenses.”

Scroll through our slideshow above for more on this new Armis data.