Ransomware Leverage is Growing by the Terabyte: Takeaways from ThreatLabz 2026 Ransomware Report
Zscaler ThreatLabz reports top ransomware groups' exfiltrated data volume jumped 276% year-over-year to 896 TB despite payments falling to $327.8M.
The ThreatLabz 2026 ransomware report found combined exfiltration among the top 10 groups by leak volume rose 275.8% year over year to 896.2 TB, while 7,366 victims appeared on leak sites, down only 3%. 62% of victims held manager-level titles or above and roughly 75% worked in finance, sales, operations, HR, or marketing. Initial access increasingly combines spam bombing, Microsoft Teams vishing, and abuse of legitimate remote support tools like Quick Assist. Known payments fell 15.8% to $327.8M but the average payment rose 5.3% to $431,995, with 52 newly active groups identified.