Microsoft: The Gentlemen ranks fourth among ransomware leak sites

Microsoft's Digital Defense Report 2026 says ransomware attacks on South African organisations rose from 7 to 17 in the year to June, a 143% jump. Newcomer group The Gentlemen ranked fourth among ransomware families with 6% of victims posted on leak sites.

• Ransomware attacks on South Africa rose 143%, from 7 to 17 cases in a year
• The Gentlemen ranked 4th with 6% of victims, behind Qilin (16%), Akira (8%) and Play (7%)
• Microsoft counted 8,521 global cases, 5,798 of which could not be tied to a country
• Median time from vulnerability discovery to weaponisation fell below 24 hours