AI-driven surge in cyberattacks and ransomware targeting Spanish companies
Spanish companies faced 2,068 cyberattacks per week in July 2026, a 1% increase year-over-year, with ransomware attacks surging 87% compared to the same month the previous year, according to Check Point Research. The rise is attributed to AI-enabled ransomware and increased use of generative AI tools in business operations, which created new data exposure risks.
What happened
According to Check Point Research data from July 2026, Spanish companies received an average of 2,068 cyberattacks per week, representing a 1% increase year-over-year.
Ransomware attacks reached 964 reported cases in July, representing a 49% increase from June and an 87% increase compared to July 2025.
The expansion of AI-enabled ransomware and the proliferation of generative AI tools in business operations were identified as key drivers of increased cyber risk.
Reported impact
Business services, manufacturing, and consumer goods sectors were the most affected by ransomware attacks, accounting for 31%, 14.4%, and 13.4% of reported victims respectively.
One in 36 prompts to generative AI tools posed a high risk of sensitive data leakage, 88% of organizations using GenAI tools experienced high-risk request activity, and 22% of prompts contained potentially confidential information.
Index analysis
Globally, organizations faced an average of 2,336 cyberattacks per week in July 2026, representing a 3% increase from June and a 16% increase year-over-year.
Education, government institutions, telecommunications, energy and utilities, and hospitality were the most targeted sectors worldwide.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.