European organizations are facing an unprecedented wave of ransomware attacks as cybercriminals increasingly integrate artificial intelligence tools into their operations.
Since January 2024, big game hunting threat actors have named approximately 2,100 Europe-based victims on more than 100 dedicated leak sites, representing a 13% year-over-year increase in attacks.
The region now accounts for nearly 22% of all global ransomware victims tracked, making it the second most targeted region after North America.
Organizations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain have borne the brunt of these attacks, with manufacturing, professional services, and technology sectors experiencing the heaviest losses.
The surge in ransomware activity across Europe stems from several factors that make the region particularly attractive to threat actors.
Cybercriminals have weaponized the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, threatening to report victims for regulatory noncompliance during ransom negotiations.
The financial incentive remains substantial, as Europe hosts five of the world’s ten most valuable companies, enabling threat actors to demand significant ransoms based on organizational revenue.
Additionally, some adversaries have expressed political motivations, with certain groups supporting geopolitical conflicts and cooperating with hybrid threat actors for mutual benefit.
CrowdStrike researchers noted that adversaries are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to maximize their impact.
During the reporting period from January 2024 to September 2025, threat actors heavily utilized credential dumping from backup and restore configuration databases, which often contain access to hypervisor infrastructure.
The attackers frequently executed ransomware from unmanaged systems lacking endpoint detection and response software, enabling them to remotely encrypt files while evading traditional security measures.
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One particularly concerning trend involves the deployment of Linux ransomware targeting VMware ESXi infrastructure, allowing adversaries to compromise entire virtualized environments simultaneously.
The underground ecosystem supporting these operations has proven remarkably resilient despite law enforcement efforts.
Russian-language forums such as Exploit and XSS facilitate collaboration among threat actors, offering initial access brokers, malware-as-a-service providers, and even violence-as-a-service operations.
English-language platforms like BreachForums have created accessible marketplaces where adversaries exchange compromised credentials, tooling, and intelligence.
These forums employ trust-building mechanisms including escrow services and reputation systems, creating a professional criminal economy that lowers the barrier to entry for aspiring attackers.
Evolution of Attack Techniques and AI Integration
The integration of artificial intelligence capabilities has transformed how threat actors conduct their operations across Europe.
Adversaries are leveraging large language models to craft more convincing phishing content and generate polymorphic code that evades signature-based detection systems.
CrowdStrike researchers identified campaigns where threat actors utilized AI-powered tools to automate reconnaissance activities, enabling them to scan thousands of potential targets and identify vulnerable systems at unprecedented speed.
The sophistication extends to social engineering operations, where adversaries employ AI-generated voice synthesis for vishing campaigns that convincingly impersonate legitimate help desk personnel.
Voice phishing has emerged as a significant threat vector, with nearly 1,000 vishing-related incidents observed globally during the reporting period.
Although most incidents currently impact North America, CrowdStrike researchers noted that vishing will likely become more prevalent in Europe as adversaries recruit native speakers of target languages.
Sophisticated groups like SCATTERED SPIDER have demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach, averaging just 35.5 hours between initial access and ransomware deployment in 2024, with one mid-2025 incident compressed to approximately 24 hours.
The adversary’s April 2025 campaign against UK-based retail entities showcased the evolution of these tactics, including a possible close-access operation attempting to recruit individuals for onsite Wi-Fi compromise.
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