This year is a pivotal one for global politics and democracy, with more than half of the world’s population participating in leadership elections, particularly Russia, the EU and the US. This has predictably translated into a serious increase in the number of cyber attacks targeting government organizations around the world.

SonicWall released its short threat focusing on government organizations and found a shocking 236% year-over-year increase in malware-related attacks in Q1. The trend is particularly worrying when looking at the month leading up to the US election, which saw a 27% increase in attacks.