Palo Alto Networks Report: Ransomware Tactics Are Increasingly Sophisticated And Manipulative

Ransomware illustration (photo: Kaspersky)

JAKARTA - The Trends Unit 42 Extortion and Ransomware Report for the January-March 2025 period from Palo Alto Networks revealed that cyber threat actors continue to develop their tactics, and collaborate with other groups.

In addition, this report also sees where the attackers also rely more and more on extortion methods to pressure victims to pay the ransom, making this attack more personal and manipulative.

In terms of attacks, Palo Alto Networks revealed that the manufacturing sector remains the main target of cyber actors, followed by wholesale & retail, and professional & legal services.

We see a shift in the way ransomware actors operate. They now abandon traditional encryption methods and switch to more manipulative techniques such as identity disguise, insider recruitment, to the use of tools capable of disabling security systems," said Philippa Cogswell, Vice President & Managing Partner Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks for Asia-Pacific & Japan.

In the local context, Indonesia was also the target of attacks. Based on the Cybersecurity Landscape Report from the 2024 National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN), 514,508 ransomware activities were recorded from a total of 330 million anomaly traffic over the past year.

The Country Manager of Palo Alto Networks Indonesia, Adi Rusli stated that businesses in Indonesia need to continue to invest in cybersecurity technology and build this foundation with sustainable security improvements and threat monitoring.

"Effective protection requires a platform-based approach that provides comprehensive network visibility to monitor traffic and block suspicious activities, as well as periodic security reviews, employee training, and solid threat response plans," Adi added.