The new ransomware survey shows: Awareness of ransomware in companies is high. However, prevention is still not a top priority in almost half of companies. One in five respondents said their company would be affected by a cyberattack in 2023.
Nearly 60% of organizations are very or extremely concerned about ransomware attacks, according to a recent survey by leading cybersecurity provider Hornetsecurity. Hornetsecurity's annual ransomware survey shows that more than nine in ten companies (92,5%) are aware of the potential negative impact of ransomware. However, only 54% of respondents said their managers are actively involved in discussions and decisions to prevent such attacks. Four in ten (39,7%) said they would be happy to let the IT department take care of the problem.
Ransomware protection is a must
🔎 Ransomware is and remains one of the biggest threats to companies (Image: Hornetsecurity).
When it comes to companies' IT priorities, 93,2% of respondents rated ransomware protection as very to extremely important. In addition, 87,8% of respondents confirmed that they have an emergency plan in place in the event of a ransomware attack.
But this also means that more than one in eight companies (12,2%) still do not have a disaster recovery plan. Of these companies, more than half cited a lack of resources or time as the main reason. A third of them said that a disaster recovery plan is not considered a priority by management.
Comparing Ransomware Survey Results from 2021 to 2023
The annual ransomware survey, now in its third consecutive year, includes questions about whether participating companies have fallen victim to a ransomware attack. The percentage of respondents who said their company was the victim of a ransomware attack has changed little since 2021: 2021% in 21,1, 2022% in 23,9, and 2023% in 19,7. reached a new low. Additionally, the proportion of participating companies that paid ransoms fell from 9,1% in 2021 to 6,9% in 2023.
Security tools to combat ransomware attacks
The survey also shows which tools are most commonly used to combat potential threats:
- 87,8% use endpoint detection software with anti-ransomware capabilities.
- 84,4% use “email filtering and threat analysis.”
- 22,4% said they now use “AI-powered security solutions” as a tool against ransomware in their company.
The most commonly cited primary security features to protect backups from ransomware are:
- Immutable storage (40,6% of respondents)
- Tight control of user and application permissions (38,3%)
- Air-gapped storage (27,8%)
Given the unpredictability of ransomware attacks, 76,2% of respondents said their organization has changed the way it secures data. 73,6% of respondents who have a recovery plan for their Microsoft 365 data are very or extremely confident in their chosen solution, while 55,1% of respondents who do not have a recovery plan are still very or extremely confident about it that your data backup is protected from a ransomware attack.
About the ransomware study
Hornetsecurity's 2023 Annual Ransomware Survey was responded to by more than 150 decision makers (including IT professionals) in small to large organizations. In this year's annual survey, 46,9% of respondents came from Europe, 30,6% from North America and the remaining 21,5% from Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and South America.
More at Hornetsecurity.com
About Hornetsecurity Hornetsecurity is the leading German cloud security provider for e-mail in Europe and protects the IT infrastructure, digital communication and data of companies and organizations of all sizes. The security specialist from Hanover provides its services via 10 redundantly secured data centers around the world. The product portfolio includes all important areas of e-mail security, from spam and virus filters to legally compliant archiving and encryption, to defense against CEO fraud and ransomware. Hornetsecurity has around 200 employees at 12 locations around the world and operates with its international dealer network in more than 30 countries.