#threat-trends

#threat-trends

In its annual Red Report, a body of research that analyzes real-world attacker techniques using large-scale attack simulation data, Picus Labs warns cybersecurity professionals that threat actors are rapidly shifting away from ransomware encryption to parasitic "sleeperware" extortion as their means to loot organizations for millions of dollars per attack. Released today and now in its sixth year, the 278-page Red Report gets its name from Picus-organized cybersecurity exercises that take the perspective of the attacker's team, otherwise known as the "red team."

That incident, in which the 55-year-old assailant was arrested and later charged with third degree assault, illustrates the day-to-day threat environment member of Congress face. Omar wasn't even the only one attacked in the past week: Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) got punched in the face at the Sundance Film Festival just days earlier. By the numbers: The Capitol Police opened 14,938 cases into "concerning statements, behaviors, and communications" directed at congressional offices and family members in 2025, the department said in a press release.