Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager

Ransomware attackers are increasingly skipping the CEO office, heading straight for the middle manager. Zscaler's analysis of a single campaign found three hundred fifty-one victims across three hundred thirty-four organizations, with most targets in manager-level roles averaging forty-six years old, working in accounting, finance, sales, operations, HR, or marketing. Rather than spray extortion emails broadly, today's attacks are surgically targeted: researchers found attackers combine data from compromised systems with public information to map organizations and identify employees who can authorize payments and access sensitive financial records. Zscaler calls this a shift from targeting technical privilege to "business privilege"—the authority that comes with knowing budgets, approving invoices, and negotiating contracts. The tactic seems to be paying off: ransomware attempt blocks jumped one hundred forty-six percent over the past year, while actual extortion cases rose seventy percent.

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