There's no single "best" country, but Russia, China, the USA, Ukraine, and Nigeria are frequently cited as major sources of cyber threats, according to indexes like the World Cybercrime Index, often due to state-sponsored operations, large digital populations, and intellectual property theft. While some nations excel in state-backed cyber espionage (China, Russia), others have high volumes of attacks from diverse groups, with talent developing in technologically advanced or digitally connected nations.
Top 10 Most Targeted Countries 2025
1. United States – The Global Leader in Cyber Security
Which Countries Were Targeted the Most by Cyberattacks in 2025?
Chaos Computer Club (CCC), founded in 1981, it is Europe's largest association of hackers with 7,700 registered members. Conti, one of the most prolific ransomware groups of 2021, according to the FBI. Cozy Bear, a Russian hacker group believed to be associated with one or more intelligence agencies of Russia.
Why was Kevin Mitnick known as the world's most famous hacker? Kevin's notoriety came from his highly publicized pursuit and arrest by the FBI in 1995 after he successfully penetrated the networks of numerous corporations.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
If you are charged with federal hacking crimes under 18 U.S.C. § 1030, you could face up to a year in federal prison for lesser offenses, between 10-20 years for more serious offenses, and even life in prison if the hacking resulted in someone's death.
More than 90% of successful cyber-attacks start with a phishing email.
Myanmar has a Cyber-Safety Score of 18.60, among the lowest globally. The score highlights the country's inadequate response to cyber threats and the lack of comprehensive strategies to safeguard against digital risks.
The United States
The US has traditionally been a pioneer in cybersecurity and it still leads the way. There have been major challenges in recent years, however, such as 2023's real estate data breach that made public the financial details of 1.5 billion people, including celebrities.
China, Russia, the United States, India, North Korea, and Iran are among the countries with the most hackers in the world.
Yes, you absolutely can make $200,000 or more in cybersecurity, especially in senior, specialized, or high-demand roles like CISO, Senior Security Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, or Security Consultant, with compensation increasing significantly with experience, certifications, and location (especially in tech hubs). While entry-level roles start lower, experienced professionals can reach $200k+ through strategic career growth and skill development in areas like cloud security, application security, and executive leadership.
Here are seven of the most famous hackers of all time and the stories behind their cyber escapades.
1. Yahoo – 3,000,000,000 records lost. In 2013, hackers breached Yahoo's system and leaked customer info from over 3 billion accounts. Fortunately, the stolen data didn't include crucial information such as payment data, unhashed passwords, or bank account numbers.
In 2022, phishing was the most-reported cybercrime with over 300,000 complaints to the FBI. Tech giants like Microsoft intercept billions of email threats 30 billion in one year, or ~82 million per day. Likewise, password attacks hit 50 million per day 579 per second as hackers try to hijack accounts.
The most common countries where hacking and cyber warfare attacks come from are:
The threat from cybercrime
Russian-language criminals operating ransomware as a service continue to be responsible for most high profile cybercrime attacks against the UK. Some of these high profile Russian-language groups are known to have links with the Russian state.
Finland is the place to be if you're looking for the best country for a workation without having to worry about your, or your company's, data being stolen. With a cyber-danger score of just 12.6, the country hosts fewer than 300 phishing sites and only 11 compromised computers per 100,000 internet users.
The World Economic Forum notes that 95% of cybersecurity issues can be traced to human mistakes. A 2025 Mimecast report likewise found 95% of breaches involved human error - underscoring that human mistakes surpassed technological flaws as the top cause of breaches.
Overall, Russia came top, followed by Ukraine, China, the United States, Nigeria and Romania. Each of these countries also ranks in the top 10 for each of the five threat categories. However, 97 countries have been identified by at least one expert as a hotspot for a particular category.
Financial Gain: Among the most prevalent motivations driving cybercrime is the pursuit of financial profit. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in digital systems to access sensitive financial information, perpetrate online fraud, and extort money through ransomware attacks.
Tools like stalkerware apps, often used by abusive partners, or financially motivated Android malware such as SpyLoan, have been detected exploiting cameras to monitor victims or collect compromising video material.”
A black-hat hacker is a person that illegally breaks into computer networks. They may be aiming to steal log-in credentials, personal and bank information, modify or delete stolen data, sell data on the dark web, or commit other malicious cybercrimes.
Cyber. The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks by criminals, overseas adversaries, and terrorists. The threat is incredibly serious—and growing.