Ransomware attacks fueled by phishing, social engineering

Almost a quarter of all ransomware attacks between January and June involved social engineering and business email compromise, compared with only 20% during the same period last year, with increased artificial intelligence usage fueling the growth, according to Channel Futures.

On the other hand, phishing intrusions against managed service providers rose from 30% to 50% during the same period, with almost 25% of such attacks entailing deepfakes or automated exploits, a report from Acronis revealed. Most ransomware attacks during the first half of 2025 were aimed at the manufacturing sector, while Cl0p was the leading ransomware operation. Such findings indicate the pitfalls of standard cybersecurity strategies, said Acronis. "Weak technologies, overly complex systems and human errors exploited through sophisticated social engineering tactics consistently undermine defenses... To overcome these challenges, a holistic cyber protection strategy is essential, integrating advanced detection, response and recovery capabilities into a cohesive platform," Acronis added.