Ransomware hits record high as Qilin tops threat list

January 17, 2026 – Published on SecurityBrief

GuidePoint Security has reported a sharp rise in ransomware activity, with victim counts and the number of active threat groups reaching record levels during 2025.

The company’s GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team, known as GRIT, said its annual ransomware and cyber threat report recorded a 58% year-on-year increase in ransomware victims. The findings draw on public sources, vendor research, internal incident response case data and open-source intelligence from illicit forums and marketplaces.

GRIT said ransomware victim numbers reached a new high in the final quarter of 2025. The team recorded 2,287 ransomware victims posted in that quarter. It described that as the largest number recorded in a single quarter since the report began.

The report also described a more crowded threat landscape. GRIT counted 124 distinct ransomware groups active in 2025. It said that figure marked the highest on its records and represented a 46% year-on-year increase.

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