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Global ransomware attacks hit record 997 in August 2026 as utility, healthcare and business attacks surge

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ransomware

Global ransomware attacks hit record 997 in August 2026 as utility, healthcare and business attacks surge

Ransomware attacks reached a record 997 incidents in August 2026, a 23% jump from July, with businesses, healthcare providers, and utility companies experiencing significant increases. Qilin and The Gentlemen led the attacks, collectively accounting for over 26% of incidents, while Clop saw the largest monthly growth in victim claims driven by exploitation of a PTC Windchill vulnerability. Geographic hotspots included Italy and Taiwan, each seeing 200% increases in attack volume, while healthcare ransomware rose 30% and utility attacks doubled compared to the prior month.

Why it matters: Organizations in healthcare, utilities, manufacturing, retail, law, technology, and finance sectors face accelerating ransomware pressure and should prioritize incident response readiness, patch management (especially for PTC Windchill), and monitoring for activity from Qilin, The Gentlemen, and Clop.

Actorsclopmedusaqilin
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