Ransomware is no longer just about locking up files and demanding payment. In a significant shift documented in a recent report, attackers increasingly favor encryptionless extortion tactics, turning data theft into their primary weapon for coercing victims. According to the Campus Technology article Encryptionless Extortion on the Rise as Ransomware Groups Shift Tactics, ransomware incidents climbed 45 percent in 2025, driven by this change in criminal strategy and opportunistic timing around staffing gaps at year end.
This evolution in ransomware behavior has serious implications for businesses, especially small and mid-sized organizations that may lack the resources and advanced controls of larger enterprises. Gone are the days when simply having backups was enough to defend against these threats. The cybercrime landscape is transforming fast, and so must your approach to security.
What Encryptionless Extortion Means for Your Business
In traditional ransomware attacks, criminals encrypt critical systems and hold them hostage, forcing victims to pay for decryption keys. Many organizations mitigate this risk with robust backup systems. But attackers have learned that as backup recovery tools improve, encryption becomes a less reliable way to monetize attacks. As a result, attackers are increasingly pivoting to encryptionless extortion, where they skip locking files entirely and instead focus on exfiltrating sensitive data and threatening to publish or misuse it unless a ransom is paid.
In 2025, researchers counted 6,182 extortion incidents when including both encrypted and encryptionless attacks, a marked increase from previous years. This trend is happening because:
- Attackers can get equal or greater leverage without triggering alarms tied to file encryption
- Data theft allows them to sell stolen information on dark web markets or use it for secondary fraud
- Victims face regulatory, reputational, and legal pressures that extend well beyond system downtime
The upshot is clear: ransomware today is as much about exposing sensitive information and inflicting long-term harm as it is about interrupting access to files.
Who Is Being Targeted Most
The Campus Technology report highlights that manufacturing firms and smaller businesses are bearing the brunt of ransomware activity. Smaller businesses with limited security staff and outdated systems are especially vulnerable, making them attractive targets for criminal gangs.
This trend crosses borders, with the U.S. alone accounting for 64 percent of reported ransomware incidents in 2025. As ransomware groups adapt and proliferate, this global pressure means that no organization can assume it is too small or insignificant to attract attention.
Ransomware Groups Are Evolving Too
The ransomware ecosystem itself is in flux. Some of the biggest names have shut down or restructured, while new groups have taken their place with even more aggressive tactics. For example:
- Qilin’s activity increased over 400 percent compared with the previous year.
- Other emerging operations, including those exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, are making data exfiltration and pure extortion a central part of their playbook.
This shifting landscape makes it harder for defenders to predict or detect attacks using traditional prevention tools alone.
Why Traditional “Detect and Respond” Strategies Are No Longer Enough
For years, many organizations relied on a detect and respond approach to cybersecurity. This strategy assumes that breaches can be discovered quickly, investigated, and contained before significant harm occurs. But the rise of encryptionless extortion exposes a fatal flaw in this mindset.
Detect and respond strategies usually focus on identifying unusual activity after it happens. But modern extortion methods give attackers plenty of time to:
- Exfiltrate sensitive data
- Spread laterally through networks
- Trigger compliance and legal headaches for victims
By the time an alert goes off, the damage may already be done.
The Case for Isolation and Containment
What organizations need now is a fundamentally different approach: isolation and containment. Instead of waiting for threats to be detected, this strategy assumes that attackers will inevitably infiltrate somewhere. It focuses on limiting what they can do, preventing them from moving laterally, accessing high-value systems, or exfiltrating data in the first place.
That is exactly what AppGuard delivers. With a proven track record of success over more than a decade, AppGuard protects endpoints by isolating critical system resources from unauthorized access. It stops ransomware and related threats before they can disrupt operations or steal sensitive data.
Unlike traditional tools that depend on signatures or threat detection, AppGuard takes a zero trust approach to execution. This means malicious activity is blocked at its source, not after it has already started. This type of containment strategy is essential in a landscape where attackers no longer need to encrypt your files to cause irreparable harm.
Preparing Your Business for Today’s Threats
Ransomware pressure is only expected to increase in 2026 and beyond. Security researchers warn that with the rising prevalence of encryptionless extortion, organizations must reexamine their preparedness now.
To protect your business, consider:
- Moving beyond backup-centered strategies
- Reducing your attack surface through isolation and containment
- Investing in endpoint protections that do not rely on detection alone
- Building a comprehensive security posture that accounts for modern extortion tactics
It Is Time to Act
If your business still depends on detect and respond tools, you are leaving the door open for devastating extortion attacks. Talk with us at CHIPS about how AppGuard can prevent these types of incidents before they start. AppGuard’s isolation and containment capabilities provide a smarter, more resilient alternative to traditional approaches, giving businesses the confidence to operate securely in today’s threat landscape.
Contact us today to learn how AppGuard can protect your organization and help you move beyond detect and respond to true isolation and containment.
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