Cybereason, announces the results of their third annual ransomware study, commissioned to better understand the true impact of ransomware to businesses.

Cybereason Ransomware: The True Cost to Business Study 2024 reveals it still doesn’t pay to pay

Cybereason, a leader in future-ready attack protection, today announced the results of their third annual ransomware study, commissioned to better understand the true impact of ransomware to businesses. This global study reveals ransomware attacks are becoming more frequent, effective and sophisticated:

• • 56 percent of organizations surveyed suffered more than one ransomware attack in the last 24 months. 
• • It still ‘doesn’t pay to pay’ as almost 80 percent of organizations who paid the ransom were hit a second time
• • 82 percent were hit again within a year
• • 63 percent were asked to pay again

The report ‘Ransomware: The True Cost to Business 2024’ further revealed that of the organizations who opted to pay a ransom in return for their encrypted systems, only 47 percent received their data and solutions back uncorrupted. These findings emphasize why it does not pay to pay ransomware attackers, and organizations should instead focus on detection and prevention tactics to end ransomware attacks before material damage occurs. 

“This year’s research shows that, while most businesses have a ransomware strategy in place, many are incomplete. They’re either missing a documented plan, or the right people to execute it. As a result, we see that many organizations are paying the ransom. Likewise whilst many have cyber insurance, too many simply don’t know if, or to what degree it covers them for ransomware attacks. This is problematic on several levels. It’s no guarantee that attackers won’t sell your data on the black market, that you’ll even get your full files and systems back, or that you won’t be attacked again.” - Greg Day, Global Field CISO (VP), Cybereason

Further key findings of the study include:

Attackers are evolving and the supply chain shows weakness - 56 percent didn’t detect a breach for 3-12 months, with 41 percent of the attackers getting in via a supply chain partner.

Attacker demands increase at every stage - 78 percent were breached a second time, with 63 percent being asked to pay more.

The true cost is staggering - 46 percent estimate total business losses of $1-10 million and 16 percent estimate total business losses of over $10 million. Not to mention the loss of revenue, brand damage and layoffs that followed.

Businesses don’t have the right tools - Less than half said their businesses are adequately prepared for the next attack. Whilst 87 percent of organizations increased spend, only 41 percent feel they have the right people and plans in place to manage the next attack.

Cybereason brings unique capabilities to our customers, ensuring they remain undefeated against ransomware. Our state-of-the-art combination of nine layers of Endpoint Prevention (EPP) with Cybereason Endpoint Detection (EDR) integrated technologies and our Managed Detection Response (MDR) service form a complete ransomware protection solution to end ransomware attacks on the endpoint, across the enterprise to everywhere the battle is taking place. To find out more, visit https://www.cybereason.com/ransomware-the-true-cost-to-business-2024 to see how we can help.

Survey methodology The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Cybereason. A total of 1,009 cybersecurity professionals from organizations with over 500 employees participated in the survey. Participants are from the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. The survey sample includes responses from a variety of industries including IT and Telecommunications, Manufacturing and Utilities, as well as Retail, Catering and Leisure.

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the XDR company, partnering with Defenders to end attacks at the endpoint, in the cloud, and across the entire enterprise ecosystem. Only the AI-driven Cybereason Defense Platform provides predictive prevention, detection and response that is undefeated against modern ransomware and advanced attack techniques. The Cybereason MalOp™ instantly delivers context-rich attack intelligence across every affected device, user, and system with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Cybereason turns threat data into actionable decisions at the speed of business. Cybereason is a privately held international company headquartered in La Jolla California with customers in more than 40 countries.