Ransomware encrypts or steals data to disrupt operations and extort victims, making backups, access controls, and incident response essential.
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Background for this topic.
Ransomware is malware used to deny access to systems or data, usually by encrypting files and demanding payment for decryption. Many operations also steal sensitive information and threaten to publish it, so an attack can create both an availability crisis and a privacy or disclosure risk. Initial access may involve phishing, stolen credentials, exposed remote services, or exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities; attackers may then move through the network before deploying the payload.
Defenses should combine vulnerability management, phishing-resistant authentication where practical, endpoint and network monitoring, and backups that are isolated from routine administrator access and regularly tested for recovery. Organizations should also limit privileges and segment critical systems to reduce the blast radius. An incident requires rapid containment, preservation of forensic evidence, restoration from known-good backups, and assessment of notification, legal, and regulatory obligations. Threat intelligence can help identify relevant criminal infrastructure or tactics, but it does not replace sound access control, patching, detection, and recovery practices.
Two kinds of attacks are in high gear: ransomware attacks against OEMs and compromised electric vehicle chargers, according to data from Q1 2025.
The losses are 33% higher than the year before, with phishing leading the way as the most-reported cybercrime last year, and ransomware was the top threat to critical infrastructure, according to the FBI Internet Crime Report.
Secureworks research shows two ransomware operators offering multiple business models with ransomware-as-a-service, mimicking the structures and processes of legitimate businesses.
Dialysis firm DaVita, Wisconsin-based Bell Ambulance, and Alabama Ophthalmology Associates all suffered apparent or confirmed ransomware attacks this month.