THE STATE OF RANSOMWARE Q2 2026

Summary from the TLDR InfoSec newsletter

Check Point Research's Q2 2026 ransomware report highlights a rapidly fragmenting threat landscape, noting that the number of active groups has climbed to 93 while the top ten syndicates' market share dropped significantly. Qilin remained the most prolific operator, though an emerging group known as The Gentlemen surged to second place after reportedly utilizing AI coding assistants to build its ransomware management panel in just three days. Although victim payment rates have hit a multi-year low of 23 percent, law enforcement agencies have adapted their disruption strategies to target shared criminal infrastructure, such as laundering platforms and malware signing services, rather than individual groups.