Israel Ranks Second Globally in Cyberattacks, Microsoft Report Finds

Israel ranked second worldwide in the number of cyberattacks between January and June 2026, according to Microsoft's 2026 Digital Defense Report released Thursday. During this period, attacks targeting Israel constituted 7.6% of all global cyberattacks. This figure placed Israel ahead of countries like Ukraine (4.8%) and Taiwan (3.9%), though significantly behind the United States, which experienced 25.5% of all global cyberattacks and ranked first.

Looking at the period between June 2025 and July 2026, Israel again ranked second with 210 identified attacks. Taiwan and Japan followed closely with 193 and 172 attacks, respectively. The report identified China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea as the primary sources of state-sponsored cyberattacks.

While most nations directed their cyberattacks towards the United States, Iran notably targeted Israel with 39% of its attacks, making Israel the primary recipient of Iranian cyber aggression. Only 23% of Iran's attacks were directed at the United States.

Regarding ransomware attacks, which aim to extort payments by restricting system access, Israel saw a modest increase of approximately 21%, rising from 19 to 23 attacks between 2025 and 2026. In contrast, the United States experienced a larger increase of 50%, with ransomware attacks rising from 724 in 2025 to 1,087 in 2026. Significant growth, exceeding 100%, was observed in South Africa, Italy, and Germany, with Germany experiencing a 276% surge in ransomware attacks, from 59 in 2025 to 222 in 2026. Despite these increases in specific countries, the overall number of global ransomware attacks decreased by 3% between the two years.