The situation surrounding ransomware attacks continues to worsen despite the efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat this growing threat. Companies are finding themselves in a difficult position, with some forced to make the decision to pay ransom demands in order to continue their operations. The prevalence of these attacks is alarming, as evidenced by the following statistics:
According to a report by Onapsis in September 2024, 83% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in the last year. Thirty-four percent of these organizations pay the ransom every time, 21% pay only some of the time, and 45% never pay the ransom. Additionally, 83% of respondents who have paid the ransom at least once stated that they have worked with a ransomware broker.
A report by SpyCloud in September 2024 highlighted the growing trend of organizations paying ransom, with 62% of organizations paying this year compared to 48% last year. However, only about a third of these organizations fully recovered their data after making the payment.
The Semperis Ransomware Risk Report in August 2024 revealed that a staggering 74% of ransomware victims were attacked multiple times in a year. Furthermore, 78% of targeted organizations paid the ransom, with 72% paying multiple times and 33% paying four times or more. Despite these payments, 87% of attacks caused business disruption, including data loss and the need to take systems offline. Additionally, 35% of victims who paid ransom did not receive decryption keys or received corrupted keys.
A record-breaking ransom payment of $75 million was reported in August 2024 in a report by Zscaler. This payment was made to the Dark Angels ransomware group, nearly double the highest publicly known ransomware payout.
The reliance on cyber insurance to cover ransom payments was called into question in a report by Veeam Software in June 2024. Despite only a minority of organizations having a policy to pay, 81% of organizations surveyed opted to pay the ransom to end an attack and recover their data. However, one in three organizations that paid the ransom still could not recover their data after making the payment.
The average ransom demand by attackers exceeded $1.26 million, as revealed in the At-Bay 2024 InsurSec Report in May 2024. While the average amount paid was significantly lower at $282,000, 54% of incidents saw a ransom payment avoided.
In the healthcare industry, ransomware attacks have impacted 20% of sensitive data in organizations, according to a report by Rubrik in May 2024. Ninety-three percent of external organizations that endured a ransomware attack reported paying the ransom demand, with 58% of these payments motivated by threats to leak stolen data.
Ransom recovery costs have skyrocketed, with the average payment increasing 500% in the last year, as reported by Sophos in May 2024. Organizations that paid the ransom reported an average payment of $2 million, a significant jump from $400,000 in 2023.
The Cohesity Research report in February 2024 highlighted the growing trend of paying ransoms as a cost of doing business for many organizations. Ninety-four percent of respondents stated that their company would pay a ransom to recover data and restore business processes, with 67% willing to pay over $3 million and 35% willing to pay over $5 million.
In conclusion, the prevalence of ransomware attacks and the increasing costs associated with these attacks highlight the need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect against this growing threat. Despite the risks and costs involved, many companies are finding themselves in a difficult position, forced to make the decision to pay the ransom in order to survive and continue their operations.