In January 2026, ransomware activity continued at a pace that security professionals find deeply concerning. According to reporting by SSBCrack News, threat actors claimed 679 victims in a single month, representing more than a 30 percent increase over the average monthly ransomware activity seen in 2025. New trends show not only continuing volume but a shift in focus toward engineering environments and intellectual property theft.
What used to be a problem largely framed around file encryption and ransom demands is clearly evolving. Attackers are now seeking technical documentation, printed circuit board designs, CAD data, internal blueprints, and other sensitive engineering assets. When these high-value items are stolen, the consequences extend well beyond the immediate ransom payment. Compromised engineering data can halt production, disrupt supply chains, undermine competitive advantage, and even jeopardize product compliance and safety.
A Threat Landscape That Keeps Getting Worse
This surge in early 2026 aligns with broader global trends. Industry studies and threat reports indicate that ransomware incidents surged dramatically in 2025, with many sectors reporting double-digit percentage growth in attacks year-over-year. One threat intelligence firm found ransomware rose by 45 percent in 2025, totaling more than 9,200 recorded cases.
Equally concerning is the observed evolution in attacker behavior:
- Data theft is now more common than simple encryption, with many attackers exfiltrating sensitive data before or in place of encryption.
- AI and automation are empowering attackers, enabling them to scale phishing, exploitation, and ransomware deployment more efficiently than ever.
- Even sectors with traditional security teams, including healthcare, manufacturing, and industrial operations, saw meaningful increases in ransomware incidents.
These trends highlight a grim reality: many organizations still rely on legacy security strategies that are no longer effective against modern ransomware threats.
Why Traditional Defenses Are Not Enough
The typical cybersecurity playbook focuses on detect and respond: deploy endpoint detection tools, monitor for suspicious behavior, wait for alerts, then try to contain and remediate. This approach assumes attackers will exhibit detectable behavior that defenders can see and react to in time. But that assumption fails in the face of today’s ransomware tactics.
Modern ransomware groups:
- Use legitimate system tools and credentials to blend into normal operations.
- Launch attacks that unfold too quickly for detection alone to keep pace.
- Evade traditional detection tools by making minimal changes or acting only when defenders are asleep.
Time and again, organizations with detection-centric defenses find that alerts come after attackers have already exfiltrated data or encrypted systems. Even with incident response teams standing by, the damage can be done before a response begins.
A Better Way Forward With Isolation and Containment
This is where AppGuard stands apart. Instead of relying on detection signals and post-breach responses, AppGuard’s proven technology uses isolation and containment to neutralize malicious activity before it can impact systems.
AppGuard has a decade-long track record of success protecting sensitive environments against advanced persistent threats and ransomware. Its approach focuses on:
- Blocking unknown and unauthorized actions at the operating system level so malware cannot execute harmful operations.
- Stopping ransomware payloads from ever reaching sensitive files.
- Protecting intellectual property, design data, and engineering environments — the exact assets now being targeted by attackers.
Rather than waiting for suspicious behavior to appear, AppGuard restricts what untrusted code can do in the first place. This is a fundamentally different paradigm from detect-and-respond approaches and one that matters now more than ever.
What This Means for Your Business
If your organization relies on proprietary data, engineering designs, supply chain workflows, or operational technology, the rising ransomware threat is not something to be treated as a future risk. It is happening now, and attackers are actively seeking the most sensitive parts of your business.
Countless security failures today stem from a simple problem: attackers move faster than detection tools, and by the time alerts arrive, it is already too late. The only defense that keeps up with the evolving ransomware threat is one that prevents unauthorized actions before they begin.
Talk With Us About AppGuard
At CHIPS, we know that protecting your business from ransomware demands more than monitoring and response. You need a preventive technology that stops malicious actions before they impact your systems. That means shifting from a detect-and-respond mindset to one rooted in isolation and containment.
Reach out today to talk with our experts about how AppGuard can safeguard your operations, protect your intellectual property, and give your organization the robust endpoint security it deserves. Let us help you build a security posture that stops ransomware, not just detects it.
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