Proactive Preparation and Hardening Against Destructive Attacks: 2026 Edition

Written by: Matthew McWhirt, Bhavesh Dhake, Emilio Oropeza, Gautam Krishnan, Stuart Carrera, Greg Blaum, Michael Rudden UPDATE (March 13): Added guidance around abuse or misuse of endpoint / MDM platforms . Background Threat actors leverage destructive malware to destroy data, eliminate evidence of malicious activity, or manipulate systems in a way that renders them inoperable. Destructive cyberattacks can be a powerful means to achieve strategic or tactical objectives; however, the risk of reprisal is likely to limit the frequency of use to very select incidents.

Destructive cyberattacks can include destructive malware, wipers, or modified ransomware. When conflict erupts, cyber attacks are an inexpensive and easily deployable weapon. It should come as no surprise that instability leads to increases in attacks.