Leaked Credentials on the Rise

Nordic Companies Under Growing Dark Web Pressure

Across the Nordics, 2025 has seen an unprecedented increase in leaked credentials and sensitive company data appearing on the Dark Web. For many organizations, the question is no longer if their information will be exposed – it’s how quickly it happens and what steps follow.

The first half of the year already paints a clear picture: Nordic mentions on underground forums are climbing, with Sweden, Denmark, and Norway among the most frequently targeted. Ransomware incidents in the region have grown by 19% compared to 2024, nearly doubling since 2023, and more access credentials than ever before are being traded, leaked, or extorted. Read more from our Mid-Year Threat Intelligence Report!

Why Leaked Credentials Are Increasing

This rise isn’t random -it’s the result of several overlapping factors shaping the digital landscape:

• Third-party and supply-chain breaches expose thousands of records through trusted vendors, HR systems, or billing platforms.
• Ransomware-as-a-service models make attacks faster to execute and easier to monetize.
• Credential theft has become industrialized, with stolen passwords and session tokens sold in bulk within minutes of compromise.
• Critical infrastructure – from energy to logistics, continues to draw focused attention from both criminal and politically motivated actors.

While the pace of law enforcement takedowns has increased, the vacuum left behind by disrupted groups is quickly filled by new or rebranded operators. In 2025, names like Akira, SafePay, and Qilin have stepped into the spotlight, fueling the ongoing surge in ransomware listings across Europe and the Nordics.

How to stop credentials getting leaked

For a region built on trust, transparency, and technological innovation, this shift poses a serious challenge. The very qualities that make Nordic organizations leaders in digital transformation, strong connectivity, agile ecosystems, and reliance on third-party services – also make them attractive to attackers.

Leaked credentials and exposed access points are no longer isolated incidents. They represent active threats that can move laterally across supply chains, compromise business continuity, and erode stakeholder confidence. That’s why visibility beyond your own perimeter is now a cornerstone of cyber resilience.

Seeing the unseen

Modern cybersecurity is not just about prevention – it’s about detection and action. Continuous Dark Web monitoring gives organizations the ability to see early warning signs, act before breaches escalate, and protect both internal systems and external trust.

At NetNordic, we believe that being secure means being informed, connected, and prepared. Our SOC and Threat Intelligence teams monitor evolving threats across sectors and help companies turn insights into measurable protection.

We don’t just deliver alerts – we deliver understanding.
We don’t just analyze incidents – we help you strengthen for the future.

Stopping Credential Leakage Together

The Dark Web economy is evolving faster than any single organization can respond to alone. Collaboration, intelligence sharing, and strategic partnership with NetNordic empower companies to act decisively and strengthen long-term resilience.

As the 2025 mid-year data shows, the Dark Web economy is growing faster than any single organization can respond to alone. Partnership, collaboration, and shared intelligence are the only sustainable ways forward.

With NetNordic, you gain more than a service, you gain a partner who listens, adapts, and acts alongside you. Because in today’s threat landscape, resilience isn’t built in isolation – it’s built together.

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