FCC flags ransomware surge
The FCC warned that ransomware incidents have quadrupled since 2022 and urged telecom and critical‑infrastructure operators to harden systems with patching, MFA, segmentation and stronger vendor oversight. Regulators are pressing operators to treat incident response planning and vendor risk as front‑line resilience measures.
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security [Bureau released]docs.fcc.gov Public Notice DA‑26‑96 on January 29, 2026, formally alerting communications providers to a worsening ransomware landscape and linking to sector research. [DA‑26‑96 references]docs.fcc.gov Cyble’s Telecommunications Sector Threat Landscape Report 2025, which logged 444 telecom incidents in 2025 and — per reporting on the dataset — shows ransomware cases rising from 24 in 2022 to 90 in 2025 with roughly 69% of those ransomware incidents concentrated in the Americas.cybersecuritydive.com The FCC [notice points]docs.fcc.gov to Cyble’s attribution that three families — Qilin, Akira and Play — accounted for about 39% of observed ransomware activity against telecom targets in 2025, highlighting recurring threat actor clustering.techobserver.in [DA‑26‑96 directs]docs.fcc.gov affected providers to use federal reporting channels and coordinate with law‑enforcement partners, and this follows CISA/FBI advisories such as the June 4, 2025 CISA update on Play (Playcrypt) that published new IOCs and TTPs.cisa.gov Regulatory analysts and law [firms noted]womblebonddickinson.com the Public Notice as more than guidance — a signal the FCC will increase monitoring of carrier cybersecurity practices and may pursue follow‑up information‑collection or enforcement steps during 2026.
