Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager

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  "signal_type": "news",
  "signal_subtype": "launches",
  "detected_at": "2026-08-09T09:33:00+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "Zscaler",
    "domain": "zscaler.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/08/09/ransomware-gangs-skip-the-ceo-head-straight-for-the-40-something-it-manager/5284499",
    "title": "Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager",
    "excerpt": "security Gen Xers who feel triggered by this should remember to unplug the network cable and call the cops Turns out the fastest way to get a company to consider paying a ransom isn't calling the CEO – it's targeting the 46-year-old IT manager. That's according to Zscaler , whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month. The data suggests today's ransomware crews have become oddly specific about their preferred victim profile: nearly two-thirds of victims held manager-level titles or above, the average victim was a 46-year-old Gen Xer, and three-quarters worked in accounting and finance, sales, operations, HR, or marketing. Half worked in the industrial or IT sectors. Rather than blasting the same extortion email across an organization, attackers are doing their homework first. Zscaler says they combine information from compromised systems with publicly available data to map reporting lines and identify the employees most likely to influence a company's response. \"The ransomware landscape has shifted from indiscriminate attacks to highly targeted extortion campaigns,\" the security outfit wrote. \"Rather than targeting executives directly, attackers are increasingly focusing on managers and other key personnel with the authority or influence to accelerate payment decisions.\" That...",
    "product": "ThreatLabz ransomware campaign report",
    "summary": "Zscaler's ThreatLabz research team released a report analyzing a ransomware campaign that targeted 351 victims across 334 organizations over one month.",
    "planning": false,
    "image_url": "https://image.theregister.com/5284713.jpg?imageId=5284713&x=0&y=0&cropw=100&croph=71.67&panox=0&panoy=0&panow=100&panoh=71.67&width=1200&height=683",
    "confidence": 0.9,
    "product_data": {
      "name": "ThreatLabz ransomware campaign report",
      "full_text": "ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign",
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      "release_type": "report"
    },
    "product_tags": [
      "report",
      "security",
      "data"
    ],
    "published_at": "2026-08-09T09:33:00Z",
    "article_sentence": "That's according to Zscaler , whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month."
  }
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curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/e74487b7-c4b2-23da-62e8-1eee8c7260ae \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"zscaler.com","limit":20}'