Ransomware in April 2025: Fewer Attacks, But Sharper, Smarter Threats Emerge

As ransomware continues to evolve, the world witnessed a rare dip in the number of reported attacks in April 2025. But don’t be fooled by the numbers — the digital battlefield is becoming more sophisticated, diverse, and perilous. While the total number of victimized organizations dropped to 470, attackers are trading quantity for quality, deploying sharper, stealthier, and more complex operations than ever before.

April saw a chilling surge in innovation and fragmentation within the ransomware ecosystem. Qilin, an already notorious player, surged to the top spot with a 71.4% jump in attacks. Meanwhile, emerging names like Silent and Crypto24 disrupted the scene with unique strategies — particularly Silent, which ditched the traditional file encryption model for data-centric extortion tactics involving leaks and dark web threats.

Geopolitical and industrial targets remained attractive, with manufacturing and IT sectors taking the hardest hits, especially in the U.S., UK, and Germany. What’s more alarming is the diversification of attack techniques — from exploiting Windows zero-day vulnerabilities to the rise of white-label ransomware and modular payloads, attackers are adapting faster than ever. As law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals try to keep up, new players are entering the game with Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) models that reduce technical barriers and attract more affiliates.

In this evolving digital war, resilience, preparation, and intelligence are the only shields. This report provides a timely pulse on the ransomware landscape, urging enterprises to harden defenses, refine detection capabilities, and invest in next-generation security frameworks.

Digest: April 2025 Ransomware Threat Overview

Reported ransomware incidents fell to 470 globally, a rare drop that conceals a more troubling evolution in attack sophistication.
Qilin ransomware group dominated the landscape, with 72 incidents and a sharp 71.4% month-over-month increase.
New players emerge: Silent, Crypto24, Gunra, and Bert gained traction, indicating a fragmented but highly active threat scene.
Silent group stands out by using data exfiltration over encryption, opting to extort through selective data leaks on dark web platforms.
Crypto24 made its mark with 8 verified attacks, suggesting rapid expansion and international reach.
Manufacturing and IT sectors were the top targets, driven by their operational significance and data density.
The U.S. led the list of victimized countries, with 224 incidents, followed by Canada, UK, Germany, and Italy.
Healthcare, Government, and Consumer Goods sectors saw reduced activity, likely due to improved cybersecurity posture or shift in attacker focus.
Professional Services and Materials sectors witnessed modest increases, hinting at recalibrated targeting strategies.
RaaS ecosystems became more complex, with groups like DragonForce offering revenue-sharing cartel models and modular tools.
Qilin’s success and others’ innovations reflect a tactical shift toward stealth and persistence, using sophisticated payloads like PipeMagic and ClickFix.
Zero-day exploit CVE-2025-29824 was actively leveraged in April’s campaigns, underlining a move toward high-impact vectors.
White-label ransomware models and the rebranding of Raas groups (e.g., RaLord to Nova) make attribution harder.
Major breaches impacted U.S. healthcare and retail firms, such as Hitachi Vantara, DaVita, and Ahold Delhaize.
Operational damage from these attacks continues to rise, encompassing financial losses and brand reputation fallout.

Despite fewer attacks,

Enterprises need multi-layered defenses, proactive patching, and intelligent threat monitoring to stay ahead.
Cybercrime is adapting faster than defenders, with innovation, agility, and stealth now defining the ransomware playbook.

What Undercode Say:

The April 2025 ransomware report underscores a crucial shift from high-volume, brute-force operations to stealth-oriented, intelligence-driven campaigns. While 470 reported incidents may suggest a downward trend, the reality paints a very different picture—one of increasing complexity and targeted precision.

Qilin’s performance in April was nothing short of dominant. A 71.4% increase in operations not only reflects organizational agility but signals a broader trend where mature ransomware groups continue to outpace defensive countermeasures. Their success is built on technical innovation, the integration of modular payloads, and increasingly business-like infrastructures.

New players like Silent are carving out a distinct niche. By avoiding mass encryption tactics and instead focusing on data theft and strategic leaks, Silent is exploiting a psychological and reputational pressure point. This method is harder to detect, often bypasses traditional defenses, and reflects a chilling evolution in extortion methodology. Their reliance on dark web extortion marketplaces also indicates a growing ecosystem of collaboration and monetization that rewards non-traditional approaches.

Crypto24’s rise, while more modest, is equally important. Its international victim list shows how quickly a group can scale when backed by effective infrastructure and affiliate partnerships. The increasing popularity of RaaS and white-label ransomware kits means that even technically unsophisticated actors can launch potent campaigns.

A particularly dangerous trend is the adoption of zero-day vulnerabilities and stealth techniques like “living-off-the-land” malware, which exploits legitimate system processes. This makes detection harder and reinforces the need for behavioral-based anomaly detection rather than just signature-based security systems.

From an industry perspective, the continued targeting of manufacturing and IT sectors reinforces their position as critical vulnerabilities in global infrastructure. With supply chains at stake, these sectors offer cybercriminals the leverage they need to force ransom payments or harvest valuable data.

The dip in attacks on Healthcare and Government might be a tactical pause or reflect defensive improvements. But it could also hint at a regrouping phase among ransomware actors, who are now exploring more profitable or less scrutinized sectors such as Materials and Professional Services.

The emergence of cartel-style structures with shared resources and collective platforms shows how ransomware is no longer a disorganized underground movement—it’s becoming a structured industry. These cartels are scaling operations, reducing barriers to entry, and enabling a new generation of threat actors to emerge with speed and force.

Organizations need to move beyond reactive strategies. Proactive cyber hygiene, incident readiness, employee training, threat modeling, and global intelligence sharing must become core business functions. With AI and automation playing larger roles in both attack and defense, only adaptive, resilient organizations will survive the next wave.

Fact Checker Results:

The data on Qilin’s activity and market dominance aligns with Cyfirma’s April 2025 cybersecurity report.
Observed trends in sector targeting (manufacturing and IT) are consistent with previous threat landscape reports.
The shift toward affiliate and white-label ransomware models is corroborated by multiple threat intelligence sources.

Prediction:

Ransomware activity will likely rebound in raw numbers by mid-2025, driven by innovations in RaaS and affiliate schemes. Silent-style exfiltration tactics will become more common, especially among newer groups seeking to avoid detection. As more ransomware operations adopt stealthy, modular, and rebranded frameworks, defenders will face greater attribution and response challenges—marking a shift from traditional cybersecurity warfare to a persistent game of strategic cat