Known cyber incidents in Italy fell to 245 in the first half of 2026 from 280 a year earlier, even as Clusit counted 4,911 serious incidents worldwide, Anadolu Ajansı reported Wednesday, citing ANSA.
Clusit recorded 71% more incidents than in the same six months of 2025 and 105% more than in July-December 2025. The six-month tally amounted to 93% of all incidents recorded during 2025, while the monthly average was 819.
Clusit said some AI agents can already carry out parts of an intrusion with limited direction. It warned that groups of agents could eventually run whole operations, choosing new tactics as they search for weaknesses. The association called for named accountability, oversight that evolves with the risk and defenses that can respond automatically.
Clusit President Anna Vaccarelli said, “The data tells us that the nature of risk is changing.” She urged organizations to view cybersecurity as necessary for business continuity and as a shared responsibility that contributes to national resilience.
In Italy, high-severity cases made up 57% of known incidents, nearly 20 percentage points more than a year earlier. Manufacturing was the most affected sector as financially motivated attacks on businesses rose while hacktivism declined. Clusit said stronger security practices introduced in response to Italian and EU cyber rules may have contributed to the decline in hacktivism. Malware appeared in 43% of reported Italian incidents, compared with 22.7% in 2025.
