Ransomware and Cyber Extortion in Q3 2024

**Q3 2024 Ransomware Overview:** ReliaQuest reports a modest quarter-over-quarter rise in ransomware listings (1,266 organizations), an emergence of RansomHub as the leading RaaS operator (800% activity surge), Play’s ESXi-targeting Linux variant, Meow shifting to selling stolen data, and a major Fortinet cloud data breach (440GB); the report highlights geographic and sector trends, increasing exfiltration-only attacks, the use of social engineering and VPN/RDP exploitation, and provides mitigation guidance and response playbooks.