Ransomware Attacks Hit Record High, NCC Group Reports
Ransomware Attacks Reached a Record High in August 2026
Full Report(when first published)
Executive Summary
A report published by NCC Group on September 23, 2026, reveals a significant escalation in global ransomware activity. In August 2026, attacks reached a new annual peak with 1,073 victims, a 12% increase from July. The industrial sector bore the brunt of these attacks, accounting for nearly a third of all incidents. North America remains the most targeted region. The report identifies the Qilin and The Gentlemen ransomware groups as the dominant threats, highlighting the persistent and evolving nature of the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) ecosystem.
Threat Overview
The data from August 2026 indicates a relentless and growing ransomware threat. The key statistics include:
- Total Victims: 1,073 organizations, a 12% increase from 973 in July.
- Top Targeted Regions: North America (44%) and Europe (26%).
- Top Targeted Industries: Industrials (31%), Consumer Goods and Services (18%), Healthcare (12%), and Information Technology (11%).
- Most Prolific Groups: Qilin (164 incidents), The Gentlemen (116 incidents), Clop (89 incidents), Dire Wolf (43 incidents), and INC Ransom (43 incidents).
The report notes a continuing trend of double extortion, where attackers not only encrypt data but also steal it and threaten to leak it publicly. In some cases, such as the attack on Manchester Airport Group, attackers are forgoing encryption altogether and focusing solely on data theft and extortion.
Technical Analysis
Ransomware groups like Qilin and Clop employ a variety of TTPs, often starting with phishing or the exploitation of public-facing vulnerabilities.
Common MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
- T1190 - Exploit Public-Facing Application: Many groups, including Clop, are known for exploiting zero-day or n-day vulnerabilities in internet-facing software (e.g., MOVEit Transfer) for initial access.
- T1566 - Phishing: A primary initial access vector for groups like Qilin, often delivering malicious payloads via email.
- T1048 - Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol: Before encryption, attackers exfiltrate large volumes of sensitive data to their own servers to use as leverage for extortion.
- T1486 - Data Encrypted for Impact: The final stage of a traditional ransomware attack, where files on critical systems are encrypted, rendering them inaccessible and disrupting business operations.
- T1657 - Financial Cryptocurency: Ransom demands are made in cryptocurrency to obfuscate the flow of funds.
Impact Assessment
The record number of attacks underscores the widespread and indiscriminate nature of the ransomware threat. The impact on victim organizations is multi-faceted:
- Financial Loss: Includes costs of remediation, operational downtime, and potential ransom payments.
- Operational Disruption: The encryption of critical systems can halt manufacturing lines, cancel appointments in healthcare, and disrupt supply chains.
- Data Breach and Regulatory Fines: The theft of data triggers data breach notification laws (like GDPR), leading to significant regulatory fines and loss of customer trust.
- Reputational Damage: Being listed on a ransomware group's leak site causes significant harm to a company's brand and reputation.
IOCs — Directly from Articles
No specific Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) were provided in the source articles.
Cyber Observables — Hunting Hints
Security teams can hunt for general signs of ransomware activity. The following patterns could indicate an intrusion:
*.qilin, *.clopreadme.txt, decrypt-me.txtvssadmin.exe delete shadows /all /quietDetection & Response
- Detection: Use EDR solutions with behavioral detection capabilities to identify and block processes performing rapid file encryption. Canary files (honeypot files) can be placed on file shares; any modification to these files should trigger a high-priority alert. This aligns with D3FEND's
D3-FCR - File Content Rules. - Response: An automated response is key. Upon detecting ransomware-like behavior, the infected endpoint should be immediately isolated from the network to prevent lateral spread. Affected user and service accounts should be disabled. The incident response plan should be activated to assess the scope and begin recovery procedures.
Mitigation
NCC Group recommends organizations prepare a defense plan and conduct tabletop exercises. Key technical mitigations include:
- Patch Management: Prioritize patching of internet-facing systems and critical vulnerabilities known to be exploited by ransomware groups. This is a core part of D3FEND's
D3-SU - Software Update. - Immutable Backups: Maintain a robust backup strategy with offline and immutable copies of data that cannot be deleted or altered by attackers.
- Network Segmentation: Limit the ability of attackers to move laterally by segmenting the network. Critical assets should be on isolated network segments with strict access controls.
- User Training: Conduct regular security awareness training to help employees recognize and report phishing attempts.
Timeline of Events
Article Updates
September 28, 2026
New high-profile victim (ATF) identified; details on emerging Aurora RaaS group and its TTPs provided.
Update Sources:
MITRE ATT&CK Mitigations
Update Software
Regularly patching software, especially on internet-facing systems, closes vulnerabilities exploited by ransomware groups.
User Training
Educating users to identify and report phishing attempts can prevent initial access.
Network Segmentation
Isolating critical systems can prevent the spread of ransomware across the entire network.
Antivirus/Antimalware
Modern EDR and antivirus solutions can detect and block known ransomware payloads and malicious behaviors.
D3FEND Defensive Countermeasures
Against the threat of ransomware, having a robust and tested File Restoration capability is the single most important mitigation. For organizations in highly-targeted sectors like manufacturing, this means implementing a 3-2-1 backup strategy: three copies of critical data, on two different media types, with at least one copy stored off-site and offline (air-gapped) or in immutable cloud storage. This ensures that even if attackers gain full control of the production network and delete local backups, a clean copy of the data is safe and available. Recovery plans must be regularly tested to validate the integrity of backups and the time-to-recovery. This D3FEND technique is the ultimate safety net, allowing an organization to recover from a destructive attack without paying a ransom.
Given that ransomware groups like Clop have had massive success exploiting vulnerabilities in public-facing applications (e.g., MOVEit), a rigorous Software Update and patch management program is a critical preventative measure. Organizations must maintain a complete asset inventory of all internet-facing systems and the software they run. A vulnerability management program should be in place to continuously scan these assets, identify vulnerabilities, and prioritize patching based on severity and evidence of active exploitation (e.g., inclusion in CISA's KEV catalog). For industrial organizations, this must extend to OT environments, where patching needs to be carefully planned and tested to avoid operational disruption. This D3FEND technique directly hardens the attack surface, closing the doors that many ransomware groups use for initial access.
With the rise of double-extortion ransomware, detecting and blocking data exfiltration is as important as preventing encryption. Implementing Outbound Traffic Filtering at the network perimeter is key. This should be configured with a default-deny policy, allowing only known, legitimate traffic to exit the network. For example, servers that have no business communicating directly with the internet should be blocked from doing so. Furthermore, deep packet inspection (DPI) and DLP solutions can be used to inspect allowed outbound traffic for sensitive data patterns or connections to known malicious domains or cloud storage services not sanctioned by the organization. This D3FEND technique can provide a critical alert that an attack is in progress and can, in some cases, prevent the data breach aspect of a ransomware attack, reducing the attacker's leverage.
Timeline of Events
Month of August 2026, during which a record 1,073 ransomware attacks were recorded.
NCC Group publishes its Cyber Threat Intelligence Report detailing the August ransomware statistics.
Sources & References(when first published)
Article Author
Jason Gomes
• Cybersecurity PractitionerCybersecurity professional with over 10 years of specialized experience in security operations, threat intelligence, incident response, and security automation. Expertise spans SOAR/XSOAR orchestration, threat intelligence platforms, SIEM/UEBA analytics, and building cyber fusion centers. Background includes technical enablement, solution architecture for enterprise and government clients, and implementing security automation workflows across IR, TIP, and SOC use cases.
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