Ransomware actors have been threatening their victims with physical violence, according to new survey data. Many are reporting actual physical attacks being carried out in service of ransomware extortions, though hard data substantiating these claims is missing.
A combined two out of every five organizations that participated in Semperis's newly released 2026 Ransomware Risk Report indicated they had faced intimidation and threats associated with their ransomware attacks, and often severe ones. Even more remarkably, more than half of respondents claimed that attackers "carried through on threats" they made.
Semperis's study relied on self-reporting, and it couldn't corroborate these alarming figures, nor could Dark Reading. If true, the data suggests that ransomware is escaping the digital realm and becoming a genuine risk to victims' safety. Unless and until proven cases of violent attacks surface, however, the data must be met with caution.