New research has revealed an alarming escalation in the tactics being pursued by ransomware operators and the impact it is having on Australian business leaders.According to new research published by identity security firm Semperis, 41 per cent of all ransomware attacks now feature psychological or physical threats against staff, with Australian executives increasingly in the firing line.
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“The ASD’s recent guidance is a reminder that identity has to be at the centre of cyber resilience: if attackers take control of Active Directory, they can gain control of an organisation’s enterprise IT network,” Gerry Sillars, Semperis’ Vice President Asia Pacific and Japan, said in a recent statement.
“Our Australian findings show the human impact can be just as serious as the technical one: in 53 per cent of cases involving Australian organisations, victims said attackers followed through on their threats. Preparation must go beyond restoring systems, combining trusted identity recovery with a response plan that accounts for people’s safety and wellbeing.”
According to Semperis’ 2026 Ransomware Risk Report, which only polled companies that had fallen victim to a ransomware attack, 22 per cent of incidents now involve psychological intimidation, while physical threats were present in 19 per cent of incidents.
These threats include hostile letters and packages being sent to office and home addresses, which were a feature of 70 per cent of ransomware attacks, while physical intrusions occurred during 47 per cent of incidents.
Intimidation tactics targeting family and friends are also on the rise.
“The bad guys are always evolving their tactics,” Mickey Bresman, Semperis’ CEO, said.
“When the initial wave of ransomware attacks began, most focused on data encryption. Then, after data backup and recovery systems started gaining traction and enabling companies to resist ransom demands, we saw the double extortion: encryption coupled with data theft and threats to expose or sell that data.
“So, it makes sense that we’ll continue to see attackers trying to find more ways to make victims pay.”
While intimidation is becoming an all-too-common feature of ransomware attacks, the report found that identity infrastructure remains a prime target. Semperis found that 98 per cent of all successful attacks exploit or target identity systems.
“Identity is the coin of the realm. If an attacker can steal an identity, they’re off to the races. Insider threats are not always a literal insider—a physical person who’s abusing their authority,” said Chris Inglis, former US National Cyber Director and Semperis Strategic Advisor.
“Often, it’s an internal person acting on an external attacker’s behalf to abuse an insider’s privileges. Sometimes it’s a process that just runs amok. In every case, identity is the core issue.”
You can read the full report here.
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