Record Number of Ransomware Victims and Groups in 2025

Searchlight Cyber's "Ransomware’s Record Year: Tracking a Volatile Landscape in H2 2025" reports 7,458 victims listed on extortion sites in 2025 (a 30% year-over-year increase), 124 active ransomware groups including 73 new ones, and warns that AI is lowering barriers for non-specialist groups by aiding social engineering, exfiltration analysis, and malware refinement; the report emphasizes common initial access vectors (insider threats, credential compromise, RDP/VPN/exposed servers, and unpatched vulnerabilities) and stresses the evolving, fragmented nature of the ransomware ecosystem.