“Digital Parasite” Warning as Attackers Favor Stealth for Extortion

Picus Security's Red Report 2026 analyzes over 1.1 million malicious files and finds attackers prioritizing stealth and persistence — using process injection, sandbox evasion, stolen browser credentials, and routing C2 through high-reputation services (like OpenAI and AWS) — to silently exfiltrate data for extortion rather than deploying disruptive encryption; samples now average 14 malicious actions and 12 ATT&CK techniques, illustrating a marked increase in sophistication.