Cybersecurity News and Headlines

Hackers Increasingly Shun Encryption in Favour of Pure Data Theft and Extortion

Cyber‑criminals are increasingly abandoning encryption‑based ransomware in favor of pure data‑theft extortion. Symantec and Carbon Black report a jump from 28 incidents in 2024 to nearly 1,500 in 2025, while traditional ransomware remained flat at about 4,700 attacks. The surge is driven by exploitation of unpatched zero‑day flaws and software‑supply‑chain weaknesses, exemplified by ShinyHunters’ Salesforce attacks on firms like Allianz and Google. Experts warn that this new threat vector demands stronger credential hygiene and supply‑chain oversight.