Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Ransomware, Microsoft attacks are surging at the same time

Ransomware, Microsoft attacks are surging at the same time

Ransomware is spiking as cyberattacks on Microsoft jump, according to a report.

The two trends are overlapping in the wake of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) recent alerts on ransomware attacks targeting Microsoft Exchange servers, according to Check Point Research (CPR).

The CPR report cited a 57% increase in ransomware attacks on organizations it tracks within the last six months and a 9% increase in ransomware attacks each month since the beginning of the year.


And the number of attacks on Microsoft Exchange servers tripled in the week before the report was published, bringing the total number of attacks on Microsoft Exchange servers documented by CPR to over 50,000. In response to these attacks, Microsoft Security Intelligence tweeted on March 11 that ransomware was being used to exploit Exchange Servers.

“Two trends are happening concurrently. One, cyberattacks targeting Microsoft Exchange servers are increasing sharply. Two, ransomware attacks are simultaneously rising steadily,” Lotem Finkelstein, manager of Threat Intelligence at Check Point, said in a statement.

Although CPR hasn’t been able yet to definitively determine that the two trends are directly related, it believes the Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities opened a door.

“We’re urging organizations to act now,” Finkelstein said.

WannaCry ransomware is trending again too: CPR found the number of organizations affected by WannaCry has increased by 53%.

WannaCry is notorious as a ransomware worm that spread rapidly through a number of computer networks in May of 2017. It encrypts the files on the PC's hard drive, locking users out, then demands a ransom payment in bitcoin in order to decrypt them.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of organizations affected with WannaCry globally has increased by 53%, CPR said, adding that there are 40 times more affected organizations in March 2021, when compared to October 2020.

Ominously, CPR says the U.S. sees the most ransomware of any single country, with 12% of all ransomware attack attempts globally as well as the most Microsoft Exchange server attacks, with 49% attack attempts compared to other countries.

The culprits in the Microsoft attacks are a ransomware group known as BlackKingdom and another unknown group deploying a new malware strain called DearCry, according to CPR.

The top three industry sectors that saw the most ransomware attack attempts are government/military (18%), manufacturing (11%) and finance/banking (8%).

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×