Almost 73% of Organizations Report Being Victim of Ransomware Attacks: Sophos

Almost 73% of surveyed organizations in India reported being victims of ransomware attacks, a significant rise from the previous year’s 57%, according to a recent report from Sophos. Out of these attacks, 77% successfully encrypted the organizations’ data, with 44% resorting to paying the ransom to regain access. However, this payment rate has dropped from last year’s 78%.

Globally, the report highlights that organizations paying the ransom to decrypt their data faced higher recovery costs, doubling the expenses compared to those who relied on backups. The recovery cost for organizations paying the ransom was estimated at US$750,000, while those utilizing backups spent only US$375,000. Furthermore, paying the ransom led to longer recovery times, with 39% of organizations that paid taking more than a week to recover, compared to 45% of those relying on backups.

Chester Wisniewski, field CTO, Sophos, expressed concern over the high encryption rate, emphasizing the need for organizations to respond quickly to disrupt ransomware schemes. Wisniewski further cautioned against paying ransoms, as it not only supports criminals but also hinders incident response and adds to the already significant costs.

The report also analyzed the root causes of ransomware attacks, identifying exploited vulnerabilities as the most common (35% of cases), followed by compromised credentials (33% of cases). These findings align with Sophos’ 2023 Active Adversary Report for Business Leaders, reinforcing the need to address these vulnerabilities.

Other key global findings from the report include the prevalence of data exfiltration alongside encryption in 30% of cases, indicating a rising trend of “double dip” attacks. The education sector reported the highest level of ransomware attacks, with 79% of higher education organizations and 80% of lower education organizations being targeted. Additionally, the report revealed that 46% of organizations whose data was encrypted chose to pay the ransom, with larger organizations more likely to pay, particularly those with revenues exceeding $500 million.

Wisniewski emphasized the importance of aggressive threat detection and response to reduce the number of ransomware victims. He highlighted the effectiveness of human-led threat hunting and the need for prompt investigation and eviction of criminals from systems. Organizations must remain vigilant around the clock to mount an effective defense against these attacks.

To defend against ransomware and other cyber threats, Sophos recommends strengthening defensive shields with security tools that protect against common attack vectors, implementing adaptive technologies that automatically respond to attacks, and ensuring 24/7 threat detection and response. Optimizing attack preparation, maintaining good security hygiene, and having an up-to-date incident response plan are also essential.

The “State of Ransomware 2023” report collected data from a vendor-agnostic survey of 3,000 cybersecurity and IT leaders conducted from January to March 2023. The survey spanned 14 countries across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific and Japan, including organizations of various sizes and revenue ranges.