As ransomware gangs threaten physical harm, 'I am afraid of what's next,' ex-negotiator says

A Semperis survey of 1,500 security and IT professionals indicates ransomware operators are escalating extortion tactics beyond system lockouts and data destruction to include regulatory complaints and even threats of physical violence, while 78% of organizations experienced ransomware in the past year, many suffered multiple attacks, recovery times worsened, and some who paid received unusable decryptors or saw data leaked—reinforcing that paying ransoms remains risky and unreliable.