Ransomware Operators Keep Business Hours. The Data Proves It

**Executive summary:** Analysis of 16,699 ransomware leak-site posts from 200 brands over two years shows operators largely run on business hours with a European afternoon peak, consistent October spikes, rapid growth in the active operator population despite takedowns, and high churn among brands—findings that should shift defender planning toward population-level monitoring and weekday-focused incident response staffing.