Ransomware and Government Protected Manufacturing Jobs

ZeroFox Intelligence Brief - Ransomware and Government-Protected Manufacturing Jobs

Product Serial: B-2025-10-09c

TLP:CLEAR

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Executive Summary

The ZeroFox Q3 Ransomware report found that the manufacturing sector was once again the most popular target for ransomware and digital extortion (R&DE) attacks, with the United States and Europe the most popular locations for attacks. This is despite the sector making up a decreasing share of economic output in those regions, as manufacturing jobs have shifted to Asia. The sector's low tolerance for downtime, complex supply chains, reliance on third-party vendors, and digitization of work sites are likely behind the rise. However, there is a roughly even chance that U.S. and European prioritization of the sector—via tariffs to specifically protect domestic manufacturing jobs or government bailouts to domestic manufacturing firms affected by cyber intrusions—is incentivizing threat actors.