Why the tactic changed
Organisations got better at restoring from backups, which defeated encryption-only attacks. Threatening to publish stolen records is unaffected by how good your backups are.
What this changes about defence
Backups remain essential but are no longer sufficient. Preventing bulk data exfiltration, and detecting it quickly, becomes equally important.
Practical steps for small organisations
Limit who can export data, alert on unusual download volume, encrypt sensitive fields at rest, and keep the amount of personal data you retain as small as the business allows.
