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ZDNET's key takeaways
Ransomware may not be on the decline after all, according to new research.
A single ransomware campaign's success can distort the historical data.
Ransomware remains a threat that business leaders must continue to defend against.
If it looked like ransomware was on the decline last year, research from multiple cybersecurity firms sheds new light on that idea.
Previous reports suggested that ransomware extortion attempts declined in 2025, replaced by techniques such as process injection, credential theft, and virtualization- or sandbox-evasion-based attacks. But more recent second-quarter 2026 reports suggest that vigilance against such extortion attempts remains as important as ever.
Before we dig deeper into the research data, let's review the nature of the threat.
What is ransomware?
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