The Andalusian cybersecurity centre records 17 per cent more attacks in 2025

Zoom

Since 2022, the increase has been relentless, with 81 per cent more cyberattacks, reaching an average of 1,265 per month

José Luis Piedra

Seville

Monday, 6 April 2026, 13:19

The Andalusian cybersecurity centre (Cian), based in Malaga, is registering a relentless increase in cyberattacks in recent years, with a total of 13,539 recorded in 2025, up 17 per cent on 2024. According to data provided by the Andalusian digital agency (Ada), the increase in such attacks stands at 81 per cent since 2022, meaning the need to handle an average of 1,265 incidents per month.

The most common types of incidents reported are those related to malicious content (39 per cent), primarily malware distribution attempts, including ransomware, or those reflecting data compromise (19 per cent of cases), along with identity exfiltration by third parties or unauthorised access attempts. Fraud-related cyberattacks reached 13 per cent, mostly phishing and scams with financial motives, while intrusions rose to 11 per cent, compromising user accounts.

This significant increase highlights the unavoidable need for technical and organisational tools for cybersecurity management, according to Ada. The security operations centre (Soc) is the regional government's first line of defense in combating and neutralising these cyberattacks. An example of the results from direct action taken by Soc is the containment of an incident at two public healthcare centres run by the Andalusian health service (Sas), which caused a temporary shutdown of online services, demonstrating Soc's rapid response capabilities.

This centre acts as a digital firewall and provides services to 129 entities, including the 82 departments and agencies of Andalucía's regional government, provincial authorities, universities, local councils and local public companies. The Andalusian cybersecurity centre, with its HQ in Malaga, is the main agency responsible for implementing the region's cybersecurity strategy. Its core function is to centralise and coordinate all the Junta's cybersecurity capabilities and serve the population of Andalucía, businesses and individuals alike.

Regional minister for industry and more, Jorge Paradela, stated that "cybersecurity is one of the pillars of the Andalusian government's work, as there can be no digitalisation without cybersecurity. We consider cybersecurity as a factor that cuts across other elements when implementing technologies such as artificial intelligence, placing the security of the people's data as a priority."

Andalucía has a business cluster in cybersecurity, comprised of more than 60 companies, universities and associations. Alongside these are all the leading technology players, security solutions providers, academic organisations and specialised consultancies.

The cluster's main objective is to articulate public-private collaboration, fostering the creation and development of a specialised cybersecurity industry and acting as a strategic collaborative platform for dealing with cyberattacks.

Cybershields for protection

The Junta is promoting digital protection shield for minors that will prevent access to inappropriate content such as pornography, fostering a culture of security in the use of technological devices. The Andalusian digital agency (Ada) is working on the implementation of a 'digital shield for minors' that will include a mobile application and content for the protection and awareness of minors and families. This shield will be able to detect and block inappropriate or malicious content for minors in real time through an application for mobile phones, tablets and computers that will ensure their protection, promoting education between parents and children and also offering resources and training for the responsible use of technology. Parents can install this cybershield on their children's devices. It will feature intelligent filtering of inappropriate digital services such as pornographic or gambling websites. The Junta is also working on a cybershield that protects all types of interconnected devices by offering a service that blocks connections to malicious content, scams, phishing and malware. Ada's director, Raúl Jiménez, stated that "one of our objectives is that cybersecurity reaches everyone in Andalucía, every company, every government department or agency, everyone's mobile phone and computer". "We work through training and awareness-raising campaigns to highlight the importance of digital security so that everyone can apply it in their daily lives and on all technological devices," he said.