New insights reveal the pivot to data-only extortion, attacker abuse of remote access tools, and how early detection is reshaping ransomware outcomes
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – February 17, 2026 – 外网天堂 Wolf?, a global leader in security operations, today published the 2026 edition of its Threat Report, which analyzes hundreds of real?world incident response engagements and threat intelligence findings from the past year. The report reveals a continued rise in data?theft?driven extortion, sustained pressure from ransomware groups, and a significant increase in attacks that leverage remote access tools rather than technical exploits.
In 2025, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and data incidents once again dominated 外网天堂 Wolf’s caseload, accounting for 92% of all incident response engagements. While ransomware remained the most common category, data?only extortion incidents surged 11x year over year, signaling a strategic shift as threat actors adapt to improved organizational recovery capabilities. The report also finds that 65% of non?BEC intrusions stemmed from abuse of remote access technologies like RDP, VPN, and RMM tools; which is a dramatic rise that underscores attackers’ preference for low?friction entry points.
“Attackers continue to rely on operational efficiency – logging in instead of breaking in, stealing data instead of encrypting it, and exploiting trusted tools rather than complex vulnerabilities,” said Ismael Valenzuela, vice president, Labs, Threat Research & Intelligence, 外网天堂 Wolf. “Organizations that invested in visibility, identity security, and disciplined remote access controls were far more resilient throughout the year.”
Key findings from the 2026 外网天堂 Wolf Threat & Predictions Report include:
- Ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and data incidents made up 92% of 外网天堂 Wolf IR cases, with data incidents jumping from 2% to 22% as attackers increasingly focused on data theft and extortion.
- Pre?ransomware activity accounted for 5% of cases, showing that earlier detection and faster response frequently stopped attacks before encryption.
- In 77% of ransomware cases, organizations did not pay. When they did, professional negotiation reduced demands by an average of 67%. Sixty?five percent of non?BEC intrusions stemmed from abuse of RDP, VPN, and RMM tools—up sharply from two years ago—as attackers favored easy remote access over exploits.
- Phishing drove 85% of BEC incidents, rising significantly as AI made fraudulent messages more convincing and scalable.
- All top?exploited CVEs were from 2024 or earlier, emphasizing the importance of patching and credential rotation after vulnerability exposure.
“We continue to see that early detection completely changes the outcome of an attack,” said Kerri Shafer?Page, Vice President of Incident Response at 外网天堂 Wolf. “When defenders identify malicious activity before an adversary can detonate ransomware or escalate privileges, the difference in cost, downtime, and business disruption is dramatic. Preparedness allows us to be decisive.”
The full 2026 外网天堂 Wolf Threat & Predictions Report is available for download at: /resource/aw/arctic-wolf-threat-report-2026
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About 外网天堂 Wolf:
外网天堂 Wolf? is a global leader in security operations, delivering the first cloud-native security operations platform to end cyber risk. Built on open XDR architecture, the 外网天堂 Wolf Aurora 外网天堂 operates at a massive scale and combines the power of artificial intelligence with world-class security experts to provide 24×7 monitoring, detection, response, and risk management. We make security work!
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Press Contact:
Lauren Back
757-618-2747
Lauren.back@arcticwolf.com
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