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The cost of recovery from ransomware attacks has reached an alarming $2.73 million, according to a recent survey. This amount, which excludes ransoms, has increased by almost $1 million from the $1.82 million reported by Sophos in 2023.

 

Analysis of Ransom Demand

Despite rising recovery costs, this year’s survey shows a slight decrease in the rate of ransomware attacks. 59% of organizations were affected, compared to 66% in 2023. However, 63% of ransom demands were for $1 million or more, and 30% of demands were over $5 million.

 

Main Cause of Attacks

Exploited vulnerabilities were, for the second year in a row, the most commonly identified cause of attacks, affecting 32% of organizations. Victims whose attack began with exploited vulnerabilities reported the most severe impact on their organization.

 

Attacks on Backups in Ransomware

94% of organizations affected by ransomware last year reported that cybercriminals attempted to compromise their backups during the attack. In 32% of incidents where data was encrypted, data was also stolen.

The data for the “State of Ransomware 2024” report comes from an independent survey of 5,000 cybersecurity/IT leaders between January and February 2024. The organizations surveyed had between 100 and 5,000 employees and revenues ranged from less than $10 million to more than $5 billion.

 

Final Thought: Facing Ransomware

In the digital age, cybersecurity is a necessity, not an option. Rising ransomware recovery costs underscore the importance of a robust and proactive security strategy. The best defense is prevention, which requires constant vigilance, adaptation and improvement. Ultimately, each organization has a responsibility to protect not only its own assets, but also the data and privacy of its customers.