UK and Europe emerge as 2026 ransomware hotspot

New research by the third-party risk intelligence provider Black Kite has found that the ransomware-as-a-service ecosystem has rebounded in Europe following a global lull in 2024 and 2025. Researchers tracked 684 ransomware attacks across the continent during the first four months of 2026, representing a 55% increase compared to the same period in 2025.

The shifting focus is attributed to the oversaturation of cyber activity in the US and the rise of AI-assisted target research that identifies unpatched vulnerabilities. 

The largest European economies in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain absorbed 68.5% of these attacks, with malicious activity rising by 119% in France and 92% in Italy.

The manufacturing sector was the hardest hit, accounting for 27.9% of European attacks between January 2025 and April 2026, while digital, scientific, and technical services constituted 17.8%. Researchers found that ransomware attackers are increasingly leveraging downstream supply chain risks, targeting physical production lines for leverage in negotiations and digital providers to gain direct access to broader client networks.

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