Ransomware Attacks Explained | How Hackers Lock Business Data & Demand Money.

In February 2026, ransomware groups escalated attacks across the United States, hitting 11 organizations in 10 industries — from law firms and accounting groups to IT services, telecom, construction, and oil & gas. Threat actors including Qilin, Akira, Everest, INC RANSOM, and DragonForce posted claims exclusively on dark web leak sites, shifting ransomware away from encryption-only attacks and toward data theft and rapid extortion. The largest claim came from Everest, alleging 1.4TB stolen from