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The threat groups Qilin and Akira together conducted about one-quarter of the 402 ransomware attacks tracked by Trustwave SpiderLabs in September, with the manufacturing and technology sectors receiving the brunt of these efforts.
This information was derived from a new SpiderLabs ransomware tracking tool that gathers information from a variety of open intelligence sources and our own proprietary research. This unique combination of open source and in-house research provides new insights into ransomware attack trends, the threat groups involved and their primary targets.
The information provided here is the first in what will be a series of monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports that go beyond the headlines of the latest ransomware attacks and place them and the perpetrators in deeper context.
September Attack Figures
For September 2025, SpiderLabs recorded 402 ransomware attacks worldwide, compared with the 415 the team tracked in September 2024. The timing of the attacks tended to take place earlier during the work week with Sept. 4, 9, 16, and 22 being peak attack days, with strikes numbering between 21 and 30.
The US was the most targeted country in September being hit 215 times, followed by Germany, 22, and Canada, 20. An additional number of attacks could not be connected to a specific victim nation.
Top 5 Threat Groups
The threat group Qilin dominated attacks in September 2025 with Akira taking second place. Both groups dramatically increased their number of attacks, displacing two well-established adversary groups, Ransomhub and Play.
Qilin has been the most aggressive threat group since May, being the top attacker each month except for July when Incransom tied Qilin at the top of the leaderboard.
Qilin is one of the many actors practicing double-extortion ransomware where payment is demanded for a decryptor, and for a guarantee to not release the stolen data. Akira is speculated to have ties to the now defunct Conti ransomware group.
Top Threat Groups for September
| Threat Groups Sept. 2025 | Number of Attacks | Threat Group Sept. 2024 | Number of Attacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qilin | 61 or 15.2% | Ransomhub | 61 or 14.7% |
| Akira | 42 or 10.4% | Play | 45 or 10.8% |
| Incransom | 36 or 8.9% | Medusa | 26 or 6.3% |
| Play | 31 or 7.7% | Qilin | 26 or 6.2% |
| Kilsec | 29 or 7.2% | Akira | 20 or 4.8% |
Top Vertical Sectors Targeted
| Sector 2025 | Number of Attacks as a % | Sector 2024 | Number of Attacks as a % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 12.7% | Business Services | 26.3% |
| Manufacturing | 11.2% | Manufacturing | 15.7% |
| Financial Services | 8.2% | Technology | 8.9% |
| Healthcare | 6.2% | Healthcare | 8.7% |
| Construction | 4.2% | Financial Services | 6.5% |
In addition to the year-over-year numbers, the SpiderLabs’ data over the last five months has technology and manufacturing trading being the most targeted sectors with manufacturing leading in August, June, and May. The data also noted that percentage of attacks for first and second place stayed registered between 11% and 12%, much like in September.
Year-to-Date Totals
The chart below tracks the overall trend of most active threat groups and sectors under attack so far in 2025. In total, SpiderLabs has tracked 5,301 ransomware attacks, up from 4,012 in 2024.
2025 Ransomware Attacks to Date
| Threat Group | Number of Attacks | Target Sector | Number of Attacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qilin | 502 or 9.5% | Technology | 628 or 11.8% |
| Akira | 491 or 9.2% | Manufacturing | 615 or 11.6% |
| Cl0p | 406 or 7.6% | Healthcare | 349 or 6.6% |
| Play | 295 or 5.6% | Business Services | 292 or 5.5% |
| Safepay | 268 or 5% | Financial Services | 265 or 5% |
Defending Against Ransomware
Trustwave, a LevelBlue Company, offers a number of services and solutions to help organizations defend themselves against ransomware and recover if successfully attacked.
Trustwave’s Ransomware Preparedness service, unlike many offerings in the market today, doesn’t focus on singular aspects of a client’s security defense but looks at all critical lines of defense, using detailed insights and aggregated information to provide client security and business leaders.
The service provides detailed assessments of the organization’s overall preparedness, an understanding of its existing capabilities to identify, respond to, and recover from a ransomware incident, and identification of the gaps, opportunities, and inherent risks it faces.
In addition, Trustwave can help with the basic mitigations all organizations should implement including:
- Enhance cybersecurity hygiene and patch management
- Implement robust backup and recovery plans
- Employee training and awareness
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and strong credential management
- Incident response planning
The content provided herein is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, compliance, or cybersecurity advice. Organizations should consult their own legal, compliance, or cybersecurity professionals regarding specific obligations and risk management strategies. While LevelBlue’s Managed Threat Detection and Response solutions are designed to support threat detection and response at the endpoint level, they are not a substitute for comprehensive network monitoring, vulnerability management, or a full cybersecurity program.
Unlock the Secrets of Ethical Hacking!
Ready to dive into the world of offensive security? This course gives you the Black Hat hacker’s perspective, teaching you attack techniques to defend against malicious activity. Learn to hack Android and Windows systems, create undetectable malware and ransomware, and even master spoofing techniques. Start your first hack in just one hour!
Enroll now and gain industry-standard knowledge: Enroll Now!
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