The Ultimate Guide to Ransomware
A curated Kiwi edition of IndustrialDay news, analysis, interviews, reviews, job moves, and related resources for Ransomware.
What to know about Ransomware
Ransomware represents a significant and evolving threat in the cybersecurity landscape, characterized by malicious software that encrypts data or locks systems until victims pay a ransom. It targets individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure, and government entities, often resulting in severe operational disruption and financial loss.
The stories under this tag explore the expanding scope of ransomware attacks—highlighting their increasing sophistication, the rise of ransomware-as-a-service models, and their impact across sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and public services. They also delve into emerging tactics such as data exfiltration for double extortion, targeted attacks on cloud and mobile platforms, and the role of artificial intelligence in both facilitating and combating these threats.
Readers will find insights into preventive measures, incident response strategies, and resilience-building through technological solutions such as advanced backup systems, cyber insurance, and threat intelligence collaborations. The content underscores the critical importance of continuous vigilance, employee training, and adopting layered defenses to manage ransomware risks effectively.
Engaging with these stories equips readers with up-to-date knowledge on ransomware trends, enabling individuals and organisations to better understand the threat dynamics and make informed decisions to protect their digital assets and maintain business continuity in an increasingly hostile cyber environment.
Kiwi Ransomware News
Regional stories with direct local relevance
ChatGPT search links New Zealanders to unsafe sites
New Zealand users risk fake login pages and scam sites after ChatGPT search results were found pointing to unsafe links and downloads.
Cybersecurity experts raise alarm after back-to-back data breaches
Schools and payroll users face heightened phishing and identity-theft risks after breaches exposed sensitive data at multiple firms.
QBE: Mooted critical infrastructure penalties hint at cyber regulatory future
Proposed fines of up to $5 million pushes more New Zealand firms to consider cyber cover as regulatory certainty emerges.
Which New Zealand companies are most likely to be targeted by Ransomware hackers?
Mid-market firms in financial, insurance and consulting services face the highest ransomware risk, with attacks now striking faster and costing far more.
The GRC cheat code: Why we stopped auditing from scratch and started mapping the gaps
By reusing one certified control set, Spectrum cut duplicated audit work and is now targeting faster SOC 2 Type II and ISO 42001 checks.
Physical security guidance for New Zealand data centre hopes
New government guidance warns mega data centres are now critical infrastructure, with a single breach risking banking, logistics and communications.
Analyst Insights
Research and market analysis connected to Ransomware
Claroty named leader & customer favourite by Forrester
Arctic Wolf recognised in IDC MDR market assessment
Check Point expands Illumio tie-up to tackle AI attacks
Check Point & Illumio expand AI cyber defence tie-up
Rubrik launches cloud recovery tool for cyber attacks
Featured News
QBE: Mooted critical infrastructure penalties hint at cyber regulatory future
Proposed fines of up to $5 million pushes more New Zealand firms to consider cyber cover as regulatory certainty emerges.
AI models expose new attack surfaces through misconfiguration
Misconfigured models are giving attackers a fresh route into cloud systems, raising the risk of data theft and service compromise.
Network segmentation - you can't attack what you can't see
Fast-moving exploits are shrinking patch windows to hours, making network segmentation vital for protecting cameras, medical devices and other connected assets.
Check Point CTO on AI's double-edged sword
AI is shrinking the gap between vulnerability disclosure and real-world exploitation to hours, forcing security teams to adapt fast.
SonicWall boosts endpoint security for SMBs and mid-market
SMBs and mid-market firms facing AI-driven attacks are set for tighter device controls as SonicWall prepares a new endpoint security product.
Resilience over prevention as AI reshapes security landscape
Rising ransomware speed is pushing ANZ firms to increase spending on recovery strategies as AI gives attackers new ways in.
Check Point: Hackers are already in. Act accordingly
Hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities in hours or minutes, leaving many organisations compromised before defenders spot the breach.
AI reshaping cybersecurity - on defence and attack
Criminals are using AI to scale phishing and hunt flaws faster, forcing firms to harden defences as alert volumes and risks rise.
Expert Columns
SonicWall wins two CybersecAsia awards, joins Hall of Fame
CISO-CFO alignment key as cyber insurance market shifts
Minimum viable company: Recover faster when systems go dark
When AI accelerates the threat, identity governance cannot afford to stand still
Identity the new security perimeter in the age of autonomous AI
Which New Zealand companies are most likely to be targeted by Ransomware hackers?
AI does not invent cyber risk, it accelerates it
SonicWall research sounds Code Red on healthcare cybersecurity as attack rates refuse to decline
The GRC cheat code: Why we stopped auditing from scratch and started mapping the gaps
Cyber hygiene 101: The big fundamentals
Interviews
Interviews and video coverage from the network
QBE: Mooted critical infrastructure penalties hint at cyber regulatory future
AI models expose new attack surfaces through misconfiguration
Network segmentation - you can't attack what you can't see
Check Point CTO on AI's double-edged sword
SonicWall boosts endpoint security for SMBs and mid-market
Recent Ransomware News
Akira exploits two-year-old SonicWall flaw, ThreatDown says
Thousands of exposed SonicWall devices still give Akira ransomware a route in, as patched systems with old credentials remain a live risk.
Keepit tops USD $100 million ARR on AI truth cloud
The milestone underlines rising demand for independent backup as firms seek reliable records for AI-driven systems and compliance.
Two-thirds of US telecoms in elevated cyber risk band
Smaller operators are carrying much of the danger as a new study finds 66% of assessed US telecoms fall into an elevated risk band.
AI security incidents expose new criminal tradeoffs
Criminals are increasingly using AI for ransomware and credential theft, while flaws in test models are exposing production systems and data.
Only 2% trust AI-ready cyber recovery, survey finds
Australian firms face rising cyber risk, with 80% hit in the past year and only 2% confident their recovery plans can withstand frontier AI threats.
Check Point warns of rising cyber attacks & AI risk
Organisations faced 2,422 cyber attacks a week in August as ransomware and phishing intensified, while AI use created fresh data exposure risks.
Commvault cuts Active Directory recovery to minutes
A clean standby copy aims to keep authentication and access running after cyberattacks, helping firms restore Active Directory in minutes.
Check Point warns of rising attacks & AI data leak risk
Rising phishing, ransomware and AI misuse are leaving organisations exposed, with weekly attacks up 22% from a year earlier.
Rubrik launches Iceberg protection for AWS lakehouses
Enterprises using Apache Iceberg on AWS can now restore full, queryable tables after incidents, reducing manual rebuilds and downtime.
Microsoft Patch Tuesday hits 999 flaws with two exploited
Patch management teams face a record burden as Microsoft's latest monthly release spans 999 flaws, including two under active attack.
Ransomware attacks rise as backup recovery worsens
Only 39% of organisations recovered at least three-quarters of their data after ransomware, as outages and data loss worsened.
Immutable backup gap leaves firms exposed to ransomware
Ransomware recovery is worsening as most organisations lack backup storage that cannot be altered or deleted, Omdia says.
Education hit hardest by cyber attacks, SonicWall says
Student records and research systems are coming under intense pressure as education networks log the highest per-device cyber attack rates, SonicWall said.
Cohesity adds managed clean room to HCLTech VaultNXT
Organisations hit by ransomware will gain a secure, auditable recovery environment as HCLTech expands VaultNXT with Cohesity's clean room service.
CISA warns of persistent software flaws in exploits
Known exploited flaws are still being driven by decades-old coding mistakes, leaving critical infrastructure exposed to faster-rising ransomware risk.
Commvault links recovery actions into CrowdStrike SOAR
Joint users can now automate cyber recovery steps during incidents, cutting handoffs and helping preserve clean backup points for ransomware response.
Ransomware attacks hit 894 as AI boosts cyber crime
North America and Europe bore most of the 894 July ransomware incidents as NCC Group warned AI tools are accelerating attacks.
NCC Group logs record July ransomware cases as AI rises
Industrial operators faced sustained pressure in July, as ransomware attacks hit 894 cases and AI-assisted tactics began to reshape threats.
Microsoft patches two critical Active Directory flaws
The flaws could have let attackers hijack identities and take over domains in environments where Active Directory still runs most enterprise access.
Citrix launches dual-boot UniconOS for Windows recovery
Organisations can restore access to apps within minutes after ransomware or failed updates, without relying on spare hardware or reimaging.