Cyber attacks in Scotland jump by more than 600 per cent

Latest figures show that cyber attacks in Scotland rose by more than 600 per cent in one year.

The Scottish Government said some 403 cyber attacks had been reported in 2020-21, an increase from just 57 the year before. The response to a parliamentary question was broken down to show the number of instances of a person gaining unauthorised access to a computer with a view to committing a crime, along with unauthorised acts which impair the operation of computers, which is covered by section three of the act.

Sections one and two of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 were violated 331 times during that year while section three was contravened 72 times.

Justice Secretary Keith Brown suggested that a change to recording meant crimes that originate abroad but take place in Scotland were now covered by the figures, but also suggested the pandemic could have had an impact.

He said: “As highlighted in the 2020-21 recorded crime national statistics, a procedural change was made to the recording of international crime in 2020-21, whereby cases carried out by a perpetrator who was likely to be outside the UK are now included.

“This may have led to some additional crimes being recorded in the latest year, though more broadly the increase may in part be due to the significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic, including behavioural changes with more people undertaking activities online.”