Anecdotally, most of us know that cyber attacks are on the rise these days. Some of us have even lived through them. But BlackBerry (TSE:BB) (NYSE:BB), the former mobile giant turned cybersecurity operation, provided some numbers and specifics to the notion, which didn’t do anything for shareholders as BlackBerry shares were down fractionally in Tuesday morning’s trading.
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BlackBerry revealed that it had put up quite a fight in the ongoing war of regular people against malicious hackers. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, it had stopped an average of about 37,000 cyberattacks per day, for a grand total of about 3.1 million such attacks in the quarter. The quarter also played host to around 630,000 malicious hashes (viruses or malware), which was up 40% against the fourth quarter of 2023’s figures.
Furthermore, BlackBerry noted that about 60% of attacks were aimed at government operations, financial operations, communications, and healthcare markets. Of that 60%, 40% were aimed at the financial markets.
A Timely Reminder To Check Your Own Security
This report from BlackBerry serves as a worthwhile reminder to check your own security measures. Making sure your passwords are strong and effectively managed, backing up your files, and things like that are just good practices. In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve is offering another such reason, as reports suggest a Russian ransomware group known as LockBit has breached it.
The group claims to have 33 terabytes worth of data, including “Americans’ banking secrets,” and is threatening a release. Some, meanwhile, question whether this event is anything more than a hacker group “blowing off steam,” though the exact extent is currently unknown.
Is BlackBerry Stock a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on BB stock based on three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 50.95% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BB price target of C$4.44 per share implies 43.61% upside potential.
