What happens when hackers stop just seeking money and start delivering messages? You’re sitting at your desk, it’s a Monday morning, and your screen is frozen. A pop-up message read, “Your files are encrypted. Pay us 10 Bitcoin.” But there’s more. Your organization is simultaneously being accused of imperialism or political bias in a politically charged statement scrolling across the bottom of the message.

This is not just a ransomware attack anymore. It is a statement, a warning, a declaration of intent.

This is a radically different type of ransomware ideology that biases the extortion and the use of disruption as propaganda.

What is Politically Motivated Ransomware?

Let’s take a moment to consider. Traditional ransomware? Easy. Encrypt files, demand money, and possibly leak files upon the victim’s refusal to pay. That model has not gone away, but it is evolving.

Politically motivated ransomware takes it one step further. These actors will not just choose victims based on return on investment, but choose targets based on their political or ideological beliefs. Their motivation could be to disrupt a government’s election, create uncertainty in a country’s supply chain, or disrupt an organization’s business through targeted attacks as retribution for exiting a sanctioned region. They want to make a point and send a message while hopefully cashing in at the same time.

The line between cybercrime and hacktivism is more blurred than a firewall on factory settings.

Real-World Examples in Ransomware That Blur the Line

This isn’t just theory – there is data behind this trend, and an abundance of terrifying examples.

Costa Rica, 2022

The government was hit by the Conti and Hive ransomware groups. More than 30 public institutions were paralyzed, including some of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Finance and national health services. The attackers were not merely seeking money, but aiming to destabilize a newly elected administration. Conti’s message called the government “corrupt” and characterized their action as a “war cry” and not an act of extortion.

Costa Rica had to declare a national emergency. This was the first time any country had responded to ransomware as it would to a terrorist attack.

British Library, 2023

For weeks, a major cultural institution in the UK was taken down after Rhysida, claiming to be “cyber activists,” leaked over 600GB of employee and research data. The ransom? Bitcoin. The justification? Vague language that said it was to “expose colonial hypocrisy.”

Russia’s Aeroflot airline, July 2025

A pro-Ukraine group, called “Silent Crow”, targeted the national airline. Over 7,000 servers were wiped, grounding flights all over Europe and Asia. The message left was not a request for Bitcoin; it was a political manifesto. The motive? A purely ideological weaponized retaliation.

These are not accidents. They are strategic strikes with purpose-built agendas.

Let’s Talk Data in Ransomware

A 2024 report from Stanford-affiliated researchers Karen Nershi and Shelby Grossman examined 4,000+ ransomware incidents from 2019 to 2022. They made several notable findings: – Attacks conducted by Russia-based actors intensified before major democratic elections. – Companies that took a political or economic stance, distancing themselves from Russia, were more likely to be attacked. – The leaks often coincided with a heightened desire and urgency for public embarrassment or political fallout, rather than payment. This is not hybrid hacktivism as a form of ransomware. It is ransomware, and a seamless attack is being linked to a full playbook of propaganda.

So, what’s the big deal? This is not just a story about cyber war, it’s a story about brand reputation, business continuity, and geopolitical risk.

Key Takeaways

These are personal attacks, not because they have a personal issue with you, but because they understand your leverage, and the issue you represent is personally important to a threat actor.

State-sponsored actors have subcontracted their dirty work to user cyber gangs who are subcontracted to assist with the messaging, for them to have the audacity to assert “this isn’t us”.

Don’t believe that if they get your payment that they are going away more often; it’s not about the money.  The story is their reward.

Your communications strategy is now part of your cybersecurity response team. Your damage control team should be at the ready the moment the politically charged story hits the news.

Can your organization activate a response plan to a breach while also responding to a smear campaign?

How to Protect Yourself from Politically Motivated Ransomware

It is not good enough to just lock the gates anymore. You must control the narrative as well.

Start with the fundamentals – but do them to a high standard:

Patch your systems quicker than the news cycle. In June 2025, unpatched SharePoint servers were exploited around the world, resulting in data breaches of more than 400 enterprises.

Limit third-party access and vendor privileges. The breach of the British Library was, at least in part, the result of monitoring contractors’ credentials unsatisfactorily.

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all access points, especially admin-level accounts.

Yet, now add strategic readiness: 

Identify your geopolitical exposure. Are you doing business in sanctioned regimes, or publicly espousing social/political stances? Your exposure is potentially broader than you’ve recognized.

Sync in your PR and Legal teams. Create a messaging playbook. The time to create your first statement is not after you’ve gone dark.

Observe propaganda movements. Are there specific periods when certain groups are more active (around elections; after global incidents, etc.)? Get your defensive audits timed.

Share intelligence, at least within your sector. Cyber threat actors tend to attack similar organizations in proximity to each other, within short timeframes. Silence is only beneficial to them.

A Relatable Moment from the Field

Not long ago, a midsized healthcare provider in Eastern Europe was hit by ransomware. The attackers encrypted 70% of its systems and released a statement accusing the hospital of “collaborating with Western imperialists.”

The catch? This hospital didn’t even have international affiliations.

The IT lead, a veteran of 20 years, told me, “I knew how to fix backups. But I didn’t know how to fix the political fallout.”

Their biggest challenge wasn’t restoring operations, it was calming patients and correcting misinformation that spread faster than the malware.

That’s today’s reality. You’re not just fighting bad code, you’re fighting bad press.

Conclusion 

Ransomware is no longer just locked files and cryptocurrencies. It’s about ideology. It’s about headlines. It’s about who controls the story, in a time when stories about breaches make the front page, before someone can write an incident report. 

Cyber defense, today, is no longer simply technical; it’s about politics, reputation, and emotions. The organizations that survive to face tomorrow’s threats will be the ones that recognize that the next ransomware note might also come with a manifesto. 

So, the next time you test your backups or update your firewall, ask yourself:

Are we ready to respond, not just to ransom, but to rhetoric?

FAQs

Q1. What is politically motivated ransomware?

It is ransomware that not only looks to collect a ransom, but also delivers a political message in the process, manipulates policies, or influences public opinion. The attackers choose organizations that they feel ideologically burdened by or are affiliated with (countries and government organizations).  

Q2. How is it different from normal ransomware?

Both force a ransom by encrypting your system; however, politically motivated ransomware takes the form of propaganda, strikes at meaningful, symbolic organizations, and sometimes will even publicly publish data with an ideological statement attached.

Q3. Are these attacks government-backed?

In many cases, yes. State-backed actors may take advantage of independent ransomware groups, acting as proxies to deliver a stated political mission, while holding plausible deniability through the ransom.

Q4. What sectors are more at risk?

Government bodies, media organizations, healthcare systems, and cultural institutions – especially those engaged with social or political issues that are drastically visible.

Q5. Can better cybersecurity help reduce politically motivated ransomware attacks?

Yes, to a point. Cybersecurity strategies are only one aspect of the equation when determining resilience against politically motivated attacks. There are many aspects of narrative control, crisis communications readiness, and regional and global leadership teams’ appreciation of geopolitics that they can consider. 

For deeper insights on agentic AI governance, identity controls, and real‑world breach data, visit Cyber Tech Insights.

To participate in upcoming interviews, please reach out to our CyberTech Media Room at sudipto@intentamplify.com.