Cybersecurity Under Pressure: Record Growth of Digital Incidents in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is facing an unprecedented increase in cyber incidents and crimes in the digital environment. Statistics show that by 2025, the country will reach a market volume in the field of cybersecurity of over $82 million, marking more than 7% annual growth and a stable trend towards investment in solutions for the protection of data, networks and digital infrastructure.

The most significant attacks in Bulgaria in 2025 are aimed at banks, public institutions and the supply chain. Record DDoS attacks in just one month cover more than 10 key banks. Experts from the banking sector warn that risks are increasing during the transition to the euro — targeted attacks seek to undermine public confidence in the banking system or even block transactions and POS terminals during holidays.

Among the most vulnerable sectors are public administration (19% of reported incidents), financial and transport services, education and healthcare. More than 35% of people in the country have only basic digital knowledge, and only 17% have good skills, which increases the risk of social engineering and phishing attacks.

Data from government agencies indicate that thousands of attempts to breach are registered in Bulgaria annually, including extortion with viruses and attacks on logistics and industrial enterprises. The country is building a new National Cyber Situation Center and upgrading coordination networks to integrate the efforts of institutions and businesses. The indicative budget for the development and modernization of the national system exceeds BGN 161 million.

The industry calls for an urgent upgrade of IT literacy in schools and administration. "There is no person who cannot be hacked and become the target of an attack," shares Yasen Tanev, a cybersecurity expert. IT specialists are regularly introduced to training on incident prevention, and online handbooks and podcasts aimed at internet security have been created for citizens and employees.

The expectation is that the growth of cybercrime and attacks will continue, but also that the IT sector in our country will consolidate a leading position in Central and Eastern Europe – especially in the implementation of innovations, cloud services and AI tools for protection.