Arctic Wolf 2025 Threat Report : 96 Percent of Ransomware Cases Included Data Theft as Cybercriminals Double Down on Extortion

Arctic Wolf, a global leader in security operations, today released its annual Arctic Wolf 2025 Threat Report, offering an in-depth analysis of the evolving cyber threat landscape. This year’s findings underscore how cybercriminals are adapting their methods to bypass stronger security defenses—prioritizing data theft, refining business email compromise (BEC) scams, and exploiting known vulnerabilities to infiltrate organizations worldwide.

New research reveals evolving threat tactics, the rising role of business email compromise, and the importance of proactive security measures. This extensive report takes a deep dive into the types of cyber attacks Arctic Wolf® Incident Response investigated this year, why certain industries are targeted with certain kinds of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and what organizations around the globe can do to harden their defenses in this changing threat landscape.

Leveraging insights from Arctic Wolf’s incident response (IR) engagements, threat intelligence research, and telemetry from the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform, the report provides a detailed examination of the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) attackers are using to outmaneuver traditional defenses. It also offers actionable recommendations for organizations looking to enhance their cybersecurity resilience, taking advantage of the report’s description of the current threat landscape.

“The 2025 Arctic Wolf Threat Report highlights a critical shift in cybercriminal behavior: data exfiltration has become the norm, not the exception,” said Kerri Shafer-Page, vice president of incident response, Arctic Wolf. “Threat actors are no longer just locking up data with ransomware; they’re stealing it first to maximize pressure on victims. The insights help organizations understand the risks they face today and shape the advanced detection and response strategies embedded within the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform to keep our customers secure.”

Key findings from the Arctic Wolf 2025 Threat Report include:

• Steal first, extort second. As organizations improve their ability to recover from ransomware, cybercriminals have turned to data exfiltration to increase leverage—96% of ransomware cases analyzed included data theft.
• The cybercrime trifecta. Three types of cybersecurity incidents account for 95% of all incident response (IR) cases: ransomware 44%, business email compromise (BEC) 27%, and intrusions 24%.
• Threat actors follow the money. BEC continues to grow as a preferred tactic, particularly in the finance and insurance sector, where it accounted for 53% of IR cases—making it the only industry where BEC outpaced ransomware.
• Patch or pay. In 76% of intrusion cases, attackers exploited just 10 specific vulnerabilities—none of which were zero-days, and most linked to remote access tools and externally facing services. This reinforces the need for proactive patch management.
• Ransomware’s price tag: $600K. Median ransom demands remain high at $600,000 USD, demonstrating that ransomware remains a lucrative business for cybercriminals despite increased law enforcement action.
• Never split the difference. The Arctic Wolf Incident Response Team helped reduce aggregate ransom demands by 64%, and 70% of clients using Arctic Wolf’s negotiation services avoided paying ransoms altogether.

The Arctic Wolf 2025 Threat Report brings together Arctic Wolf’s top security minds—from incident responders and researchers to data scientists and engineers—to provide a comprehensive analysis of today’s evolving cyber threat landscape. This essential resource helps security, IT, and business leaders anticipate threats, strengthen defenses, and stay ahead of adversaries. Powered by insights from the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform and backed by security operations expertise from one of the world’s largest commercial Security Operations Centers (SOCs), Arctic Wolf delivers the intelligence and defense organizations need to proactively detect, respond to, and remediate cyber threats.

For additional insights and to download the full Arctic Wolf 2025 Threat Report, visit arcticwolf.com.