Ransomware crews threatened employees' families at 37% of surveyed firms
Original title: Ransomware pressure now reaches employees’ homes and families
Semperis surveyed 1,200 professionals at organizations already hit; 59% paid and 87% saw identity systems targeted.
Semperis' 2026 Ransomware Risk Report surveyed 1,200 IT and security professionals whose organizations had suffered at least one successful ransomware attack. Respondents described threats to family or friends, stalking, swatting, and doxxing used to raise ransom pressure. Most organizations were hit more than once in the prior year, and many paid. The report says restoring systems before removing attacker access, including compromised identity platforms, enables repeat intrusions.
Unconfirmed: Figures are self-reported by surveyed organizations that had already suffered ransomware, not independently verified incidents.
- A quarter said employees or relatives needed medical or psychological treatment.
- Swatting was reported by 23% of respondents.
- 69% had multiple successful ransomware attacks within the previous year.
- Half of surveyed organizations had dedicated identity backups.
- Active Directory, Entra ID, and Okta were among targeted identity services.
Impact: threats to staff and families, plus repeat access after recovery
- 1.Document response roles for threats against employees' family members outside the workplace.
- 2.Establish law enforcement relationships before an incident.
- 3.Keep dedicated identity backups and remove attacker access before restoring services.
- Products
- Active DirectoryEntra ID
- Organizations
- Semperis
From the original article
3 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
Ransomware attackers threatened employees’ family members or friends at 37% of organizations surveyed for Semperis’ 2026 Ransomware Risk Report. The survey covered 1,200 IT and security professionals at organizations that had experienced at least one successful ransomware attack.
By Anamarija Pogorelec · helpnetsecurity.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.