Ransomware gangs increasingly threaten physical violence to extort payments

A quarter of ransomware campaigns now involve psychological or physical threats against staff, according to the Semperis 2026 Ransomware Risk Report. 40% of attacks included intimidation tactics, with 25% of affected firms reporting doxxing and 23% swatting of employees.

• 25% of ransomware campaigns include threats of physical violence
• 40% of attacks involved psychological or physical intimidation
• 57% of threats arrive as messages, letters or packages
• 25% of firms reported doxxing, 23% swatting of staff