Ransomware gangs now target 46-year-old IT managers instead of CEOs
Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager
New research from Zscaler's ThreatLabz reveals a shift in ransomware tactics: attackers are increasingly targeting mid-level managers, particularly those in their 40s, rather than C-suite executives. Analyzing a campaign that hit 334 organizations, they found that nearly two-thirds of victims held manager-level titles or above, with an average age of 46. These employees often have access to financial systems, contracts, and other sensitive data, making them valuable leverage for extortion. The report also notes a broader trend toward data theft and extortion over simple encryption, with ransomware attempts up 146% and stolen data volumes up 92% in the past year.
The value of a compromised managerial account lies in the breadth of business access associated with the position.
- stephbook
The article is unclear: Do they "attack" the GenX managers and encrypt their stuff, or do they simply contact GenX managers in order to get paid faster?
In that case, the managers aren't "victims" and aren't "attacked", that would be the company..
- neilv
> Zscaler says they combine information from compromised systems with publicly available data to map reporting lines and identify the employees most likely to influence a company's response.
And commercially-available data: enterprise salespeople, for example, can buy this intel from data brokers (directly, or with layered services catering to sales funnels specifically).
It's another way that surveillance capitalism can be a national security threat against the US. You have countless US companies collectively mapping out people networks and assembling often intimate dossiers on individuals... and saving international organized crime and geopolitical adversaries a ton of work, which they might not have the resources to otherwise do.
- Lucasoato
Companies hope that training will protect them from cyber threats, while ignoring that their most vulnerable employees are the ones that lost the motivation to care about their job.
- theseanz
Hey! As a 46 year old I am offended by this - I am definitely not Gen X. We’re a weird X/Millenial hybrid I’ve seen referred to as Xennials.
Also F ZScaler - we use this officially sanctioned MTM attack at work and all it does is make my job harder.