According to the Barracuda report “Ransomware Insights 2023” one thing is certain: once is never. A majority of businesses fall victim to ransomware attacks repeatedly. 73 percent of global businesses affected by ransomware in 2022 were attacked more times. 43 percent in the DACH region.
In its global report "Ransomware Insights 2023", Barracuda presented interesting evaluations. It shows that 73 percent of the companies surveyed report having been hit by at least one successful ransomware attack in 2022. 38 percent say they have been the victim of an attack twice or more. The companies that were attacked several times increasingly stated that they had paid the ransom. 42 percent of those hit three or more times paid the ransom to recover the encrypted data.
DACH area: 72 percent successful ransomware attack
🔎 Only a third paid for ransomware to decrypt their data. Over 50 percent used backups (Image: Barracuda).
The cloud security specialist surveyed 150 companies of the same size in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. On average, 40 percent of employees work remotely. 64 percent of the companies had cyber insurance. The vast majority, 72 percent, were victims of a successful ransomware attack in 2022, of which 43 percent were repeat victims of ransomware attacks. 18 percent of those companies that experienced only one attack accepted the ransom demand to get their data back. In contrast, 23 percent of companies that were attacked twice or more paid the ransom. In the vast majority of cases, 71 percent, ransomware attacks started with email scams.
Critical infrastructure with more than two ransomware attacks
The industries affected by ransomware varied significantly. For example, 98 percent of consumer services and 85 percent of energy, oil/gas, and utilities companies have experienced at least one ransomware attack. The energy, oil/gas, and utilities industry was also the most likely to report two or more successful ransomware incidents, at 53 percent.
The results show that 69 percent of the companies participating in the study started the ransomware attack with a malicious email. For example, a phishing email aimed at stealing credentials that would allow the attackers to penetrate the corporate network. Web applications and traffic rank second, posing a growing risk from an ever-expanding attack surface.
Businesses underprepared for ransomware attacks
🔎 Companies that have been attacked more often are more likely to pay the ransom for their data (Image: Barracuda).
Organizations with cyber insurance were more likely to be hit by ransomware: 77 percent of organizations with cyber insurance were hit by at least one successful ransomware attack, compared to 65 percent without cyber insurance. The study also revealed that 27 percent of the companies surveyed felt they were not fully prepared for a ransomware attack.
Background to the report
The study, commissioned by Barracuda, surveyed C-level to C-level IT professionals in organizations with 100 to 2.500 employees across multiple industries in EMEA, US and APAC. Barracuda commissioned independent market research firm Vanson Bourne to conduct a global survey of IT managers, senior IT security managers and IT and IT security decision makers. The survey was attended by 1.350 people from a wide range of industries including agriculture, biotechnology, construction, energy, government, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, telecom, wholesale and others. The survey participants came from the USA, Australia, India and Europe. In Europe, respondents were from the UK, France, the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden). The survey was conducted in December 2022.
Directly to the report PDF at Barracuda.com
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