Rise of Multifaceted Extortion

The discussion emphasizes the increasing prevalence of multifaceted extortion methods, moving beyond traditional ransomware alone. In 2023, the extortion landscape was marked by a significant rise in both ransomware payments and the number of victims as recorded on data leak sites. The analysis indicated that ransom payments reached historic highs, with a notable portion exceeding $1 million. This trend reveals how threat actors are diversifying their tactics to maximize earnings by leveraging both direct ransomware attacks and data theft for additional leverage.