Ransomware Threats Moving Out to the Edge

Rapid7's Christiaan Beek on Ransomware Tactics and How to Mitigate Attacks in 2026 Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • December 1, 2025

Ransomware attacks are breaking records, and 2026 may be even worse, said Christiaan Beek, senior director of threat intel and analytics at Rapid7. More than 80 ransomware groups are hitting victims worldwide at the same time, overwhelming defenders and rapidly recovering from law enforcement takedowns with the profits they earn.

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Hackers are exploiting vulnerabilities as soon as they're disclosed, and they're focusing on flaws in devices on the network edge - where many organizations face challenges with patching, Beek said.

"I think what companies need to focus on is if they can't patch this device, if they don't have the time window to actually fix this quickly enough, what is my next in-line technology procedure that ...