Fragmentation, Extortion & the New Ransomware Reality 

The report warns that 2025 saw the cyber extortion ecosystem fragment into many smaller, more aggressive actors after major takedowns, driving a shift from encryption-based ransomware to data-theft extortion backed by prolific infostealer activity (roughly two billion credentials harvested) and increasingly sophisticated negotiation tactics; it recommends defenders focus on data loss prevention, zero-trust identity controls, and early detection/response to credential compromise.