The clear trend this year is pure data extortion: attackers quietly copy data out, then demand payment under threat of publishing it, selling it or reporting the victim to data protection regulators. Backups alone no longer answer the threat.
Common entry points
- VPN or remote desktop accounts without MFA
- Unpatched vulnerabilities in internet-facing devices
- Passwords harvested by infostealer malware
How to defend
- Enforce MFA on every remote access path
- Have the SOC watch for abnormal outbound data volumes
- Encrypt personal data and restrict who can reach it
- Prepare your 72-hour PDPC notification plan in advance
Trend analysis by the Cybershield Threat Intelligence team.