{"id":186409,"date":"2026-02-11T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/extortion-attacks-on-the-rise-as-hackers-prioritize-supply-chain-weaknesses\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:35:13","slug":"extortion-attacks-on-the-rise-as-hackers-prioritize-supply-chain-weaknesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/extortion-attacks-on-the-rise-as-hackers-prioritize-supply-chain-weaknesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Extortion attacks on the rise as hackers prioritize supply-chain weaknesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extortion attacks on the rise as hackers prioritize supply-chain weaknesses<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cybersecuritydive.com\/news\/ransomware-extortion-intel-471\/811954\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-02-11 11:27:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.cybersecuritydive.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. <\/p>\n

Listen to the article
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Dive Brief:<\/p>\n

Ransomware actors extorted consumer and industrial products vendors, consulting firms and manufacturing companies more than any other organizations in 2025, the security firm Intel 471 said in a report published on Tuesday.
\nThe U.S. was, by far, the most affected country, accounting for more than half of all extortion victims.
\nCyber threat actors exploited more than 40% of the 520 vulnerabilities disclosed in 2025, according to Intel 471, which predicted that AI would further reduce the time needed to exploit these vulnerabilities in 2026.<\/p>\n

Dive Insight:
\nThe number of extortion-related cyberattacks increased by roughly 63% in 2025 to 6,800, according to Intel 471\u2019s report, which is based on data from the company\u2019s analysis of dark-web forums. The previous year saw the \u201crapid ascension\u201d of the Qilin ransomware gang, Intel 471 said, although the Sp1d3r Hunters alliance (composed of Scattered Spider, LAPSUS$ and ShinyHunters hackers) and the Cl0p gang grabbed most of the headlines with high-profile operations.
\nBusinesses should be particularly alert for supply-chain attacks leveraging vulnerabilities in their contractors\u2019 products, the report warned. By compromising a managed service provider or software vendor to access its customers\u2019 systems, a supply-chain attack \u201cleverages established trust, allowing attackers to bypass robust defenses and achieve a much greater impact with significantly less effort,\u201d Intel 471 researchers wrote.
\nCleo and Salesloft experienced major breaches that led to significant downstream intrusions in 2025, with researchers attributing the former campaign to Cl0p and noting the potential involvement of Sp1d3r Hunters in the latter campaign. Qilin launched a campaign in September that compromised at least 20 South Korean companies through an intrusion into one of their IT service providers.
\nIntel 471\u2019s data on initial access brokers\u2019 techniques offers a road map for how businesses should lock down their systems and put their employees on alert. Remote access portals topped the list of IABs\u2019 targeted technologies, while their most frequent entry method was the abuse of legitimate credentials.
\n\u201cAccess brokers tend to rely on a recurring set of tools to demonstrate proof of compromise,\u201d researchers said. \u201cFrom a defender\u2019s perspective, understanding the adversary behavior and their tools of preference can serve as early indicators of intrusion activity.\u201d
\nOn the prediction front, Intel 471 forecasts that supply-chain attacks will pick up due to the increasing prevalence of \u201cworm-like automation\u201d; that ransomware payments will decline as more organizations exhibit a reluctance to pay, forcing threat actors to rethink their pressure tactics; and that AI will remain only \u201ca force multiplier\u201d rather than \u201cthe core driver\u201d of cyberattacks.
\n\u201cThere is little incentive for profit-driven adversaries to adopt malware dependent on LLMs due to increased cost, complexity, and reliance on external infrastructure, especially when proven loaders or stealers remain effective,\u201d Intel 471 said. \u201cWe predict targeted escalation in areas where AI demonstrably increases the return on investment \u2014 such as deepfake-driven impersonation, AI-generated voice fraud targeting high-value individuals, and amplified synthetic media in influence operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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