LinkedIn Carousel - #CyberWeekly Week 5

The Ransomware Reckoning

45% surge in 2025 signals tougher year ahead for Belgian SMEs

Platform: Knowledge Base Goes Live

LockBit Hero Honored by King Charles

ESA Breach Investigation Escalates

Easy Cyber Protection

1/5

Ransomware surge: 45% increase in 2025, SMEs in the crosshairs

NordStellar research reveals a staggering 9,251 ransomware cases in 2025 — a 45% jump from 2024's 6,395 cases.

Over two-thirds of attacks target businesses with fewer than 500 employees — SMEs generate enough revenue to pay ransoms but often lack the security infrastructure and recovery capabilities of larger organizations
Manufacturing is the hardest hit — production downtime translates to immediate financial losses, making manufacturers more likely to pay
Belgium has 130 victims on ransomware leak sites — spanning logistics, healthcare, insurance, and retail

Read the full NordStellar report → https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/28/3227531/0/en/NordStellar-research-reveals-ransomware-attacks-soar-with-a-45-increase-in-2025.html

2/5

Platform Spotlight: Knowledge base goes live with 50 articles

This week we launched the Learn section — 50 articles covering NIS2, CyberFundamentals, security basics, practical guides, and industry-specific advice.

NIS2 essentials — what it is, requirements, penalties, deadlines, and a full compliance checklist
CyberFundamentals explained — what it is, assurance levels, controls, and certification
Security basics — phishing, ransomware, passwords, 2FA, backup

Explore the Learn section → https://easycyberprotection.com/learn/

3/5

LockBit takedown hero honored by King Charles in New Year Honours

Gavin Webb, the UK National Crime Agency officer who led Operation Cronos, received an OBE in King Charles III's New Year Honours list.

LockBit was responsible for 25% of all ransomware attacks globally — disrupting them saved countless businesses from encryption and extortion
The gang is still active — despite the takedown, LockBit has rebuilt infrastructure and resumed attacks, showing the cat-and-mouse nature of ransomware enforcement
International coordination works — Operation Cronos involved agencies from the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. Ransomware is global; the response must be too

Full story on Computing UK → https://www.computing.co.uk/news/2026/security/lockbit-takedown-coordinator-wins-obe

4/5

European Space Agency opens criminal investigation after 500GB data theft

The European Space Agency confirmed a criminal investigation after hackers claimed they stole 500GB of sensitive data, including operational procedures, spacecraft details, and proprietary contractor information from…

Operational procedures and spacecraft mission details — the kind of data that could compromise future launches or satellite operations
Subsystems documentation — technical blueprints for space infrastructure
Proprietary contractor data — source codes, access tokens, hardcoded credentials, and Terraform files from ESA partners

Read the investigation details → https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/07/european_space_agency_breach_criminal_probe/

5/5

Belgium NIS2: Self-assessment deadline approaching (April 18, 2026)

Belgian entities subject to NIS2 must submit their CyFun® AL Basic or Important self-assessment — or their ISO 27001 documentation — to the CCB by April 18, 2026.

If you chose direct CCB oversight: Submit your self-assessment using the CyFun® Assurance Level framework (Basic or Important depending on your classification). Alternatively, submit your ISO 27001 information security policy, scope, and statement of applicability.
If you chose sectoral oversight: Check with your sectoral authority (e.g., BIPT for telecom, NBB for finance) for their specific submission requirements and deadlines.
Not sure which applies to you? Review our NIS2 requirements guide or check the CCB Safeonweb portal for registration and oversight details.

Visit CCB Safeonweb NIS2 portal → https://atwork.safeonweb.be/nis2

Correction

Correction (2026-09-26): The ransomware item above says over two-thirds of attacks target businesses with fewer than 500 employees, and its image caption says SMEs account for over two-thirds of victims. The NordStellar release this item links to does not say that. What it says is that small and medium-sized businesses with up to 200 employees and revenues up to $25 million experienced the most ransomware attacks. We no longer use the two-thirds figure.

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Belgian cybersecurity, weekly.

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