The Security Forces and Corps recorded a total of 374,737 cybercrimes in 2022, 22% more than the previous year, according to the Report on Cybercrime in Spain 2022, published this Friday by the Ministry of the Interior. It stands out that scams (computer fraud) represent 90% of this type of crimes, that is, 26% more than in 2021.
Regarding cyber incidents, the report states – in line with what was already reported by INCIBE – that critical infrastructures received a total of 546 cyber attacks in 2022, which represents a decrease of 19.7% compared to 2021.
The majority of incidents against critical infrastructure were attacks against systems (60%), followed by information theft (21%) and, to a lesser extent, fraud, intrusions and the use of malware.
According to this annual report with data from the National Police, Civil Guard, Foral Police of Navarra, Ertzaintza, Mossos d'Esquadra and the different local police forces, threats and coercion, crimes against honor, industrial and intellectual property and data and system interference.
Specifically, far behind scams are threats and coercion committed via the Internet (15,982 cases), which represent 4.2% of the total, but which are reduced by 7.7% compared to the previous year.
The report indicates that the profile of the cybercriminal is a man (72% of those arrested or investigated), between 26 and 40 years old and of Spanish nationality. By territorial area, Catalonia and Madrid are the autonomous communities with the highest number of reported cybercrimes, exceeding 63,000 incidents in both cases. They are followed by Andalusia, with 56,900 infractions, and Comunitat Valenciana, with 34,000.
The number of detained and investigated people has reached 15,097 people in 2022, which represents an increase of 9.4% compared to 2021.
The Ministry of the Interior has highlighted that the 2022 report confirms the upward trend in cybercrimes, as well as its "greater proportional weight in crime, which has gone from representing 7.5% in 2018 to 16.1 in 2022." .
This department launched a public awareness campaign in February of this year, with advertising in major media and a specific strategy for social networks, to address this progressive increase since 2016. It has also made operational decisions such as giving greater executive capabilities to the Office of Cybersecurity Coordination (OCC), a body that links the Secretary of State for Security with the reference national cyber incident response centers.
According to the Interior, for the first time, in addition, the Secretary of State for Security has had a specific budget allocation of five million euros to meet the investments necessary to provide adequate technological capabilities to both the Cybersecurity Coordination Office and the National Police and Civil Guard units specialized in the prevention and prosecution of cybercrimes.
