Latin America Tops Global Ransomware Rates as Threats Shift to Post‑Quantum Tactics

Kaspersky's State of Ransomware 2026 report shows Latin America became the most targeted region in 2025, with 8.13% of organizations hit. The density surpassed Asia‑Pacific (7.89%), Africa (7.62%), the Middle East (7.27%), the CIS (5.91%) and the EU (3.82%). The manufacturing sector alone suffered more than US$18 billion in losses during the first three quarters of the year.

Although the overall share of ransomware‑affected firms fell modestly worldwide, threat actors adopted more sophisticated methods. New ransomware families now use post‑quantum cryptography, exemplified by the PE32 strain that employs the ML‑KEM/Kyber1024 standard. With ransom payments dropping to 28% in 2025, attacks increasingly rely on encryptionless extortion. Tactics such as “EDR killers” and “Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver” are used to neutralize endpoint defenses, and attackers are focusing on poorly secured RDWeb remote‑access portals.