A recent survey commissioned by Cohesity, a leader in AI-powered data security and management, has revealed some alarming trends in the prevalence of cyberattacks and how they are impacting businesses across various industries. The research, which polled over 900 IT and security decision-makers, found that the majority of companies have been forced to pay ransoms and break their ‘do not pay’ policies due to data recovery deficiencies.

It comes as no surprise that companies firmly operate in a ‘when’, not ‘if’, reality of cyberattacks. In fact, the research showed that most companies have paid a ransom in the last two years, with the majority expecting the threat of cyberattacks to only increase significantly in 2024 compared to 2023.

One of the most concerning revelations from the survey is the fact that close to 8 in 10 of respondents said their company had been the ‘victim of a ransomware attack’ between June and December of the surveyed year. The cyber threat landscape is only expected to get worse, with 96% of respondents predicting a significant increase in cyberattacks in 2024, and over 7 in 10 foreseeing an increase of more than 50%.

The research also highlighted the fact that organizations’ data security risks are increasing faster than the growth in the data they manage. Despite this, just 21% of respondents have full confidence in their company’s cyber resilience strategy and its ability to address today’s escalating cyber challenges and threats.

When it comes to data recovery and cyber resilience, the research uncovered several concerning trends. All respondents said their company needed over 24 hours to recover data and restore business processes, with just 7% claiming they could do so within 1-3 days. Alarmingly, almost 1 in 4 companies reported that they need over 3 weeks to recover data and restore business processes. Additionally, just 12% of companies said they had stress-tested their data security, management, and recovery processes in the six months prior to the survey.

The significance of rapid response and recovery from cyberattacks is evident in the fact that 94% of respondents said their company would pay a ransom to recover data and restore business processes. This is a startling statistic, especially considering that 84% of companies claimed to have a ‘do not pay’ policy.

Furthermore, the survey showed that executive awareness and responsibility for data security was an area in need of improvement, with just 35% of respondents saying their senior and executive management fully understands the serious risks and daily challenges of protecting, securing, managing, backing up, and recovering data.

While government initiatives, legislation, and regulations are being put in place to encourage stronger cybersecurity and data management, only 46% of respondents said these were driving their companies’ data security, data management, or data recovery initiatives.

Overall, the survey conducted by Cohesity clearly indicates a pressing need for companies to prioritize cyber resilience and data security. Rapidly responding to, and recovering from, cyberattacks is crucial, and organizations need modern AI-powered data security and management solutions to protect their data, detect when it is under attack, and recover it as fast as possible to restore their business processes.Additionally, organizations should not center their entire data security, risk, management, or recovery strategy around a set standard or compliance framework. Rather, they should see legislation and regulation as the floor, not the ceiling, and prioritize the security risks posed to their data and operations.

Based on the survey findings, it is evident that cyber resilience and data security should be a holistic organizational priority that is not only centered on technology but also involves executive awareness and responsibility, aligning of senior and executive management, as well as compliance with government initiatives and regulations. As the threat landscape continues to evolve and cyberattacks become increasingly more sophisticated, it is imperative for businesses to take a proactive approach in safeguarding their data and operations.

Cohesity is a leader in AI-powered data security and management and offers comprehensive data security and management capabilities, including immutable backup snapshots, AI-based threat detection, monitoring for malicious behavior, and rapid recovery at scale. The company, headquartered in San Jose, CA, is trusted by some of the world’s largest enterprises and aims to help organizations defend against cybersecurity threats in today’s challenging threat landscape.

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