The Ransomware Crossfire 2025: Where Will It Strike Next?

Ransomware has become one of the most persistent threats in the digital world. What once appeared to be a challenge primarily for financial institutions and tech companies has expanded into a widespread crisis. Today, no industry is off-limits. Cybercriminal groups are increasingly targeting healthcare providers, retail chains, energy suppliers, and public services, exploiting vulnerabilities that reach far beyond IT departments.

In the first half of 2025, a series of high-profile attacks brought renewed attention to the scale and sophistication of modern ransomware campaigns. Incidents involving Marks & Spencer, Kettering Health, and Nova Scotia Power show how widespread the threat has become. These cases highlight not only the evolving tactics of cybercriminals but also the gaps in security preparedness that many organizations still face.

This blog explores those attacks in detail and uncovers key patterns that leaders must understand to strengthen their defenses against the next wave of ransomware threats.

The Case of Marks & Spencer

In April 2025, just as shoppers prepared for the Easter weekend, UK retail giant Marks & Spencer was hit by a ransomware attack. The incident was linked to the Scattered Spider group, known for its advanced social engineering techniques. The attackers used DragonForce ransomware and gained access by targeting third-party contractors through phishing campaigns and multi-factor authentication fatigue attacks. These techniques are designed to overwhelm users with repeated authentication requests, eventually leading someone to approve access unknowingly.

Once inside, the attackers exfiltrated sensitive customer information. M&S quickly shut down critical systems, including its online shopping platform to contain the breach.

The financial impact was significant. The Cyber Monitoring Centre estimated a combined loss for Marks & Spencer and Co-op ranging between £270 million and £440 million. This included revenue losses, supply chain disruptions, and emergency cybersecurity responses. Rather than pay the ransom, M&S chose to accelerate its planned digital infrastructure upgrade, condensing a two-year plan into just six months with a strong focus on cybersecurity and supplier oversight.

Although operations began to recover by mid-2025, the fallout continued. Exposed customer data remained at risk, and the brand faced lasting reputational harm and growing regulatory attention.

Kettering Health’s Emergency

Just a month later, on May 20, 2025, Kettering Health, a major healthcare network in the United States, experienced a crippling ransomware attack. While the group behind the breach has not been officially named, many signs point to Interlock, which has a known history of targeting healthcare institutions using phishing and double extortion techniques.

The attack led to the shutdown of electronic health records, delays in surgeries and routine appointments, and the suspension of patient portal access. Cybercriminals reportedly stole patient data before encrypting key systems. This attack not only disrupted patient care but also posed serious long-term risks associated with identity theft and medical fraud.

Kettering Health responded by working with federal agencies, cybersecurity specialists, and law enforcement. The organization implemented stronger access controls and began restoring its systems. However, the full cost of the incident has not been made public. Expenses likely included emergency IT services, forensic investigations, regulatory response measures, and ongoing credit monitoring services for patients.

As of June 2025, Kettering had resumed core operations, but concerns remain about the long-term misuse of patient information. Healthcare providers are uniquely vulnerable to ransomware because of their dependence on real-time access to patient data and the sensitivity of the information they store.

Energy Infrastructure Breached: Nova Scotia Power

In the energy sector, the impact of ransomware became alarmingly clear when Nova Scotia Power confirmed an attack in May 2025. The breach had actually started in March, when attackers exploited a vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer tool. The attackers remained undetected for weeks, moving laterally through systems before launching a double extortion campaign that both encrypted and exfiltrated customer data.

Over 280,000 customers were affected. While the company declined to pay the ransom, it took swift action to work with law enforcement, expand customer support infrastructure, and provide two years of credit monitoring for those impacted.

The long-term consequences of this attack continue to unfold. Regulatory bodies have launched investigations, and the utility provider is working to restore public confidence while strengthening its cybersecurity posture.

Where Will It Strike Next?

The question is no longer where ransomware will strike next. Threat groups like Scattered Spider, already linked to attacks on retail and insurance, have now moved into targeting the aviation sector, as recently confirmed by the FBI. This expansion underscores how quickly ransomware actors are adapting and extending their reach across critical industries. At this point, no sector can consider itself immune. Rather than wondering who might be next, the real question organizations should be asking is whether they are prepared to withstand and respond to these increasingly sophisticated attacks.

What Do These Attacks Reveal?

Although the targets and sectors differ, these incidents reflect broader trends that all organizations must pay attention to. Ransomware is no longer a singular event with a clear beginning and end. It is part of a larger, more dynamic threat landscape.

Human Error Remains the Primary Weakness

Phishing, social engineering, and authentication fatigue are still effective methods for attackers to gain initial access. These methods bypass technical defenses by manipulating people. This highlights the importance of regular security awareness training and strong behavioral safeguards.

Double Extortion is the New Standard

Modern ransomware groups do not just encrypt data. They also steal it and threaten to leak it publicly. This double extortion tactic puts additional pressure on victims and dramatically increases the cost of non-payment. Even if backups allow for system restoration, the risk of sensitive data being published or sold remains.

Backup Strategies Are Not Enough

Backups are a vital part of recovery, but they cannot prevent data leaks or reputational damage. Many organizations still treat backups as their main recovery plan. In today’s threat landscape, this is not enough. Organizations need to combine strong backup strategies with advanced detection and containment solutions.

The Threat Landscape is Becoming Faster and Smarter

Ransomware groups are adopting new technologies to improve their effectiveness. Artificial intelligence is being used to automate phishing emails, craft convincing fake content, and find weaknesses faster than human analysts can. Meanwhile, Ransomware-as-a-Service is enabling less technical attackers to rent tools and infrastructure, turning cybercrime into a scalable business model.

How Argus Helps Organizations Respond

In this environment, speed is critical. The time between initial compromise and full system encryption is shrinking. Many threat actors can move from infiltration to data exfiltration within hours. Organizations must detect and respond in real time to stop threats before they escalate.

Argus, Genix Cyber’s advanced detection and response platform, is built for this exact purpose. It offers continuous visibility across endpoints, user identities, networks, and cloud infrastructure. Argus uses AI to analyze behavior, detect anomalies, and trigger automated response actions.

With Argus, organizations can

• Continuously monitor their attack surface
• Detect identity-based threats before they escalate
• Contain incidents in real time
• Automate response workflows
• Reduce dwell time and investigate threats more efficiently

Argus also aligns with zero trust principles, ensuring that access is continuously verified and that attackers are stopped from moving freely within systems.

Resilience Starts with Readiness

The ransomware incidents of 2025 show that no industry is immune. Whether it is retail, healthcare, or energy, the impact of an attack goes far beyond data loss. It affects operations, reputation, regulatory standing, and long-term customer trust.

Organizations need to treat ransomware as a business-level risk, not just a technical problem. This means taking concrete steps to improve their security posture.

Key recommendations include

• Investing in continuous employee training to combat phishing and social engineering
• Evaluating and securing third-party access and digital supply chains
• Deploying advanced detection and response platforms like Argus
• Building and practicing incident response plans regularly
• Shifting from reactive security to proactive cyber resilience

Every organization must prepare for the likelihood of being targeted. Those who prepare now will be in a far better position to protect their systems, their data, and their reputation.

If you are ready to take the next step, connect with Genix Cyber to schedule a quick consultation.