Cyber intrusions against industrial environments escalate

Infosecurity Magazine reports that industrial technology environments have been subjected to more cyberattacks amid a twofold increase in industrial control system vulnerability exploitation.

Manufacturing and healthcare, which are heavily dependent on ICS, have been the primary targets of ransomware intrusions last year, findings from Cyble Research & Intelligence Labs' Annual Threat Landscape Report 2025 showed. Total ransomware incidents rose by 37% between 2024 and 2025, with Qilin being the most active ransomware operation.

Hacktivism also became a "globally coordinated threat" as activity surged due to geopolitical conflicts between Israel and Iran and between India and Pakistan. Most prolific among hacktivist operations last year was Z-Pentest, which sought to compromise ICS across various sectors. Attacks against ICS have also been launched by the Dark Engine, Sector 16, and NoName057(16) operations.

"Armed conflicts, elections, trade disputes, and diplomatic crises fueled intensified campaigns against state institutions and critical infrastructure, with hacktivist groups weaponizing cyber-insurgency to advance their propaganda agendas," said researchers.