Introduction:
The scope, complexity, and motivation of cyber threats are constantly changing as Europe speeds up its digital transformation. Critical insights into the European Union’s (EU) cybersecurity posture are provided by the ENISA Threat Landscape report, which identifies the most targeted industries, the most exploited methodologies, and the people behind these threats.
Although the type of cyber events is evolving, ENISA’s findings show that their impact on Europe’s vital services is still extremely alarming, ranging from hacktivist groups to sophisticated state-sponsored espionage.
Public Administration: The Prime Target
The most frequently targeted sector, accounting for 38.2% of all cases reported, was public administration. Over 94% of attacks were low-impact Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) tactics that produced little to no disruption. Nevertheless, ransomware kept targeting local government systems and towns, proving that administrative networks are still susceptible to targeted and opportunistic attacks.
As EU countries depend more and more on online platforms for citizen involvement, documentation, and e-government, these attacks not only disrupt vital public services but also undermine public confidence in digital administration.
Hacktivism: Volume Over Impact
According to the research, hacktivism is the main cause of incident volume in the EU. The frequency and timing of these ads, which frequently coincided with national elections or geopolitical events, increase their psychological and political influence even though many of them lacked technical expertise.
More than 60% of the hacktivist claims were the work of a prominent player, NoName057(16), who used its “DDoSia” platform to plan denial-of-service assaults against firms in EU Member States. Political narratives and internet activism are becoming more and more entwined, as evidenced by the spike in these activities during periods when the EU was supporting foreign conflicts.
Ransomware: Still the Most Impactful Threat
Ransomware continues to be the most financially and operationally harmful threat, even if the number of ransomware attacks overall decreased by 11% from the year before.
Among the most often used ransomware strains were well-known ones like Akira and SafePay, which targeted businesses in the manufacturing, local government, and financial sectors. In order to coerce victims into paying, ransomware operators are constantly changing their strategies and now employ multi-extortion, which involves collecting confidential information before encrypting it.
Another important player was the Initial Access Broker (IAB) ecosystem, which offered high-volume, low-cost access to susceptible networks via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) credentials and compromised VPNs. A steady stream of possible victims for ransomware operators and cybercriminal organizations is maintained by this market.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Cybercrime
The application of artificial intelligence (AI) by both criminal threat actors and state-aligned entities is a noteworthy development in the landscape of previous year. From automating phishing tactics to improving malware obfuscation and spying efforts, ENISA notes that adversaries are using AI to increase productivity.
This pattern demonstrates how AI technologies have two uses: they help bolster cybersecurity defenses, but they also provide attackers access to hitherto unachievable efficiency and scale.
State-Aligned Intrusions and Cyberespionage
Europe’s cyber security landscape is still shaped by geopolitical conflicts. According to ENISA, state-aligned intrusion sets continue to be quite active throughout the continent, especially APT28, APT29, and Sandworm.
These organizations primarily target the defense, telecommunications, and public administration sectors with the goal of compromising strategic operations or stealing confidential information. The Matryoshka Information Manipulation Set, which led campaigns against Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), a major concern for election integrity and information security in Europe, is also mentioned in the report.
Phishing and Vulnerability Exploitation Remain Key Entry Points
The weakest link is still the human element. According to ENISA’s investigation, phishing, including its variations, such as vishing, malspam, and malvertising, accounted for about 60% of all initial infection vectors.
A further 21.3% of attacks took advantage of known or unpatched vulnerabilities, many of which led to the distribution of additional malware. The important necessity for ongoing security awareness training, vulnerability management, and strong patching procedures in all industries is further supported by this data.
Digital Infrastructure and Operational Technology in the Crosshairs
Operators of vital infrastructure and digital service providers continue to be highly desirable targets. Attacks against digital infrastructure and services, albeit accounting for only 2.2% of events, frequently have cascading impacts and act as springboards for more extensive follow-up attacks.
Furthermore, when OT systems particularly those in manufacturing, energy, and transportation are exposed to the Internet more frequently, they become desirable targets for espionage and sabotage activities.
Motivations Behind Cyberattacks
According to ENISA data, hacktivist motivations were reflected in 79.4% of cyber events that were ideology driven. Cyberespionage accounted for 7.2% and attacks with financial motivations for 13.4%.
This distribution highlights a notable trend toward politically and ideologically motivated cyber operations, in which the goal of the attacker is influence rather than money.
ENISA: Threat Landscape at a Glance
| Threat Category | Primary Target | Key Metric / Insight | Primary Actor/Vector |
| Public Administration | Local and National Govt | 38.2% of all incidents | DDoS and Ransomware |
| Hacktivism | EU Member States | 60% led by NoName057 | DDoSia Platform |
| Ransomware | Manufacturing and Finance | 11% volume drop; Higher impact | Akira, SafePay (Multi-extortion) |
| Cyberespionage | Defense and Telecom | High strategic impact | APT28, APT29, Sandworm |
| Phishing | Human Element | 60% of initial infection vectors | AI-Enhanced Social Engineering |
How Vehere NDR Addresses the Threat Landscape
Vehere Network Detection and Response (NDR) solution provides the real-time visibility necessary to neutralize the sophisticated tactics highlighted in the ENISA report. By shifting from perimeter defense to a network-centric strategy, it secures business, cloud, and critical infrastructure through the following capabilities:
- Countering Cyberespionage: Detects covert data exfiltration and stealthy communication channels used by state-aligned actors (such as APT28 and Sandworm).
- Neutralizing Ransomware Early: Identifies lateral movement and Initial Access Broker (IAB) activities, including compromised RDP sessions and VPN misuse before encryption begins.
- Managing Hacktivist Volume: Utilizes advanced behavioral analytics and AI-driven anomaly detection to identify and mitigate high-volume DDoS attacks.
- Exposing Phishing and Post-Exploitation: Correlates unusual DNS, SMTP, HTTP, and TLS traffic patterns to catch phishing-led breaches and suspicious command-and-control (C2) activity.
- Protecting Critical Infrastructure (OT): Offers protocol-aware monitoring for Operational Technology environments to identify anomalous control traffic, sabotage attempts, and industrial espionage.
- Bypassing Perimeter Gaps: Proactively identifies threats that successfully circumvent traditional firewalls and endpoint security by analyzing internal “east-west” traffic.
Conclusion: Building Cyber Resilience
A key takeaway from the ENISA Threat Landscape is that, in the digital age, cybersecurity is no longer merely a technical problem but also a strategic necessity for Europe’s stability, sovereignty, and confidence.
The EU’s resilience will rely on a concerted strategy that combines proactive threat intelligence, public-private cooperation, and investment in cybersecurity education as AI transforms both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.
The results serve as a reminder that Europe’s defense against the constantly changing threat scenario is built on a foundation of alertness, readiness, and flexibility.
