Cyber Threats: 81% of Organizations Pay Ransom, 63% Risk Reinfection
Cyber threats continue to pose significant risks to organisations worldwide. A recent study reveals alarming statistics about data recovery, ransomware attacks, and their impact on businesses and employees.
Only 57% of compromised data can be recovered, leaving organisations vulnerable to substantial data loss. Despite this, 97% of organisations have an incident response team with a playbook, with a 'good backup' being the most common component. However, 63% of organisations lack synchronisation between backup and cyber teams, with security professionals and backup admins calling for improvement.
Ransomware is the largest single cause of IT outages and downtime, with 41% of data compromised during a cyberattack. Shockingly, 63% of organisations are at risk of reintroducing infections while recovering from ransomware attacks. In 2023, 3 out of 4 organisations were impacted by ransomware, with AI facilitating both security advancements and attack sophistication. Many affected companies were insured, with 34% paying ransoms, sometimes in the millions.
The impact of ransomware extends beyond financial loss. 81% of organisations paid the ransom to recover data, but one in three still could not recover. Cyberattacks cause heightened pressure on IT and security teams (45%), loss of productivity (26%), and disruptions to services (25%). Post-attack, 45% of individuals experienced increased workload, and 40% reported heightened stress levels.
The prevalence of ransomware attacks and the challenges in data recovery highlight the urgent need for organisations to strengthen their cybersecurity measures and incident response plans. Improved coordination between backup and cyber teams, along with robust insurance strategies, can help mitigate the financial and operational impacts of cyberattacks.
