The Playbook For Organized Cybercrime
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
Sausalito, Calif. – Feb. 18, 2026
–Read the full report in GlobeNewswire
Cybercrime has become the world’s third-largest economy, with costs projected to reach $12.2 trillion annually by 2031, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. A new report from Huntress sheds light on the playbook used by organized, profit-driven cybercriminals, uncovering how they weaponize legitimate tools, exploit everyday behaviors, and leverage a vast underground network to exploit people, businesses, and employees across the globe.
Key findings include:
Remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools are cybercriminals’ new favorite weapon;
Over half of all malware loader activity came from ClickFix;
Time-to-ransom (TTR) rose as ransomware groups prioritized stealth, data theft, and extortion;
Ransomware has its own big four —Akira, Medusa, Qilin, and Ransomhub— and they are dominating the market;
Buying stolen credentials is cheaper and easier than ever;
Mailbox manipulation and OAuth abuse set the stage for business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
The report explains that generative AI-powered cybercrime isn’t just about smarter phishing scams anymore. It’s an underground economy, built entirely on the abuse of trust. This force multiplier puts powerful cyberattack tactics and tools in the hands of anyone, driving cybercrime to unprecedented levels of speed and sophistication.
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