Why it matters

Why it matters:

  • 7.4M+ hosts were compromised by infostealers in H1 2026, extracting over 1.7B credentials — making identity, not technical exploits, the primary entry point into enterprise networks.
  • 19% of the 21,667 vulnerabilities disclosed in H1 2026 shipped with ready-made, functional exploit code, erasing the manual remediation window.
  • Ransomware victim volume rose 45% period-over-period, even as payout rates fell to a record-low 28% — driving cartels toward larger individual demands against low-downtime sectors like Manufacturing and Healthcare.