Thirty-two a day. That is the pace of ransomware attacks in August 2026, when Comparitech counted 997 worldwide, a record for any month. July had 809, so the jump was 23%. The old high of 988 dated from February 2025.
The monthly totals hide where the pressure is landing.
Utilities double, healthcare climbs
Utilities saw the sharpest rise, with attacks doubling from five in July to 10 in August. Healthcare providers took 69 hits, up 30%. Businesses overall accounted for 861 attacks, 24% more than in July. “The healthcare sector saw a 30 percent increase in attacks, but utility companies saw the biggest spike,” wrote Rebecca Moody, Comparitech’s head of data research.
Law firms were up 52%, technology companies 42% and finance companies 40%. Only education (down 4%) and food and beverage (down 5%) saw fewer attacks. In the United States, attacks rose 28%, which the security site NetSecOps linked in part to Qilin: 34% of that group’s victims were American.
Who is behind it
Two groups did the heaviest lifting. Qilin claimed 157 incidents and The Gentlemen 107, together more than 26% of the month’s total. Qilin’s claims grew 22% while The Gentlemen’s fell 21%. On confirmed attacks, Qilin had 12 to The Gentlemen’s eight.
Clop made the biggest comeback. It posted 45 new victims, against one in July, tied to exploitation of a vulnerability in PTC Windchill software. That is mass exploitation of a single flaw, and a reminder that unpatched internet-facing software remains a favorite way in.
Most of these attacks follow the double-extortion model: attackers steal the data first, then encrypt, then threaten to publish unless they are paid.
Other trackers see the same direction with different counts. NCC Group recorded 1,073 attacks in August, up 12% from 960 in July, with industrials the most targeted sector at 329 attacks, or 31%. It also had Qilin as the most active group, responsible for 15% of attacks.
Sources
- Ransomware attacks surge to record 997 in August 2026 | Anna Ribeiro posted on the topic | LinkedIn
- Ransomware Attacks Hit All-Time High in August 2026
