Cyber experts reveal the four-hour window YOU are most likely to be hacked or scammed

If you wake up to a message from an unknown number or email address, it could be a hacker.

A cyber expert has warned that 94 percent of personal cyberattacks happen between the hours of 1am and 5am.

This is a prime time for hackers to infiltrate systems because that's when systems that detect online scams are at their most vulnerable.

People are being urged to be extra vigilant during these times when it comes to opening attachments or online shopping.

Companies are most vulnerable between one and five in the morning and on holidays when IT personnel are less likely to monitor the systems for potential attacks

'We see ransomware attacks happening during [early mornings] when defenders are less vigilant, and users are less active,' Alex Holden, the chief information security officer for Hold Security, LLC told DailyMail.com.

'Even interactive attacks like phishing may happen in early hours in the morning where a user is more likely to consent to a data disclosure and much less likely to sound an alarm.'

Hackers use phishing emails to trick people into clicking a malicious attachment to obtain financial information, data, or disrupt systems.  

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Ransomware attacks drastically increased in 2023, with the US experiencing a shocking 63 percent increase in known attacks, according to a report by the cybersecurity agency Malwarebytes that conducted the study.

The data was gathered by monitoring information published by ransomware gangs on their dark web sites.

Malwarebytes also looked at overall ransomware trends from observations by incident response teams including ThreatDown Managed Detection and Response analysts who handle hundreds of cases a month. 

The report found that consumers could fall victim to ransomware gangs more quickly than organizations because they run like businesses and are more focused on making money than who becomes the victim.

'Most attacks are focused on financial gain [like] ransomware to hijack and extort businesses, data theft, stealing critical data and threating to release it to the dark web or competitors,' Gallant, the founder and director of the cybersecurity company Adaptive Office Solutions, said.

The report found that a concerning number of ransomware attacks come from abroad, with 70 percent of all ransomware payments going to Russian-speaking gangs

The US has seen the largest increase in ransomware attacks globally and now accounts for about half of all known attacks, according to the Malwarebytes report.

According to the cyber insurance company Deloitte, roughly 91 percent of cyber and ransomware attacks start with a phishing email that are most often sent overnight.

'The threat actors are acutely aware of victims' operating hours,' said Holden.

'If time allows, the bad guys are usually trying to start their attacks toward the weekend or later at night counting on no or minimal working IT personnel.'

'Too often Monday mornings bring the victims a rude awakening,' he continued, adding that victims' data is usually targeted on a large scale and then sold on the black market.

Americans' banking details, social security numbers and other personal information is being stolen during the four-hour window

'Even if the malware [victims] are tricked into installing isn't ransomware, a lot of malware has the capability to download other malware,' Mark Stockley, a cybersecurity expert for Malwarebytes told DailyMail.com. 

'If the malware's operator thinks they can make money from installing ransomware, they will.'

Experts warned that people shouldn't shop online during the four-hour timeframe because there is a higher risk of unknowingly clicking on a malicious link. They should also refrain from clicking links sent via an unrecognized email or cell phone number.

Americans should take additional steps to protect themselves like setting up two-factor authentication, using strong passwords, updating any outdated software on their devices and being wary of installing unknown or unapproved software.