A ransomware attack causes maximum damage to companies: It takes a long time to resume normal operations afterward. This leads to significant revenue losses. According to a recent study, fewer than half of affected companies report the attack to law enforcement authorities.
A Zero Trust Segmentation (ZTS) provider announces the results of a study commissioned by the Ponemon Institute, "The Global Cost of Ransomware." The study shows that ransomware attacks significantly disrupt companies' business operations and lead to financial losses.
🔎Image: Illumio
According to the study's findings, 55 percent of German companies hit by a ransomware attack had to shut down operations. 45 percent reported significant revenue losses. 36 percent were forced to cut jobs, and 34 percent lost customers.
The Global Cost of Ransomware study analyzes the scale of the ransomware threat and the measures companies are taking to reduce risks and mitigate impacts.
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Read the best news from B2B CYBER SECURITY once a monthRansomware attacks cause maximum damage
Key findings of the study are:
- Attackers focus on critical systems to cause maximum damage: Ransomware attacks affected 24 percent of critical systems, which were down for an average of 12 hours.
- German companies invest more time and manpower in containing ransomware than any other country: German companies needed an average of 18,3 employees, each working 149 hours, to contain and resolve the largest ransomware attack – longer than any other country.
- Costs of reputational damage now exceed legal and regulatory costs: The brand suffered significant damage in 34 percent of the affected companies.
- Failure to prioritize investments in improving resilience is costing companies dearly: 47 percent of German companies take too long to detect and contain security breaches. Only 28 percent implement microsegmentation, an important measure to stop an attack from spreading.
"Ransomware is more ubiquitous and damaging than ever, but not every attack necessarily results in business disruption or serious business failure," said Trevor Dearing, Director of Critical Infrastructure at Illumio. "Organizations must focus on operational resilience by implementing measures like microsegmentation that prevent attackers from reaching critical systems. By containing attacks early, companies can protect their most critical systems and data, saving millions in downtime, lost revenue, and reputational damage."
Cloud and hybrid environments remain vulnerabilities as attackers exploit unpatched systems
The increasing interconnectedness of business systems and devices is making it more difficult for companies to defend themselves against ransomware attacks. Companies view the cloud as the most vulnerable. 40 percent of German companies surveyed say that a lack of visibility in hybrid environments hinders their response to ransomware attacks.
🔎Image: Illumio
In Germany, desktops and laptops are the most commonly compromised devices, accounting for 52 percent of attacks. Phishing (45 percent) and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP, 31 percent) are cited as the most common entry points for ransomware. 62 percent of attacks spread across the network and infected additional devices. In more than half of these cases (56 percent), attackers exploited unpatched systems to move laterally and gain more extensive privileges.
German companies invest heavily in defense against ransomware, but efforts fall short
According to the study, almost a third (30 percent) of German companies' IT budgets are spent on employees and technologies designed to prevent, detect, contain, and resolve ransomware attacks. Nevertheless, attacks remain successful: According to the study, 89 percent of companies have already fallen victim to a ransomware attack, even though 59 percent were confident in their security posture.
🔎Image: Illumio
Many companies also rely on recovery after a ransomware attack and fail. Fifty-two percent of respondents believe that a complete and accurate backup is a sufficient defense against ransomware. However, only 52 percent were able to recover all affected data after an attack.
Companies are afraid to report ransomware attacks
The study also identifies other key challenges in defending against ransomware, including:
- Ransomware incidents continue to go unreported: Sixty-five percent of those affected did not report ransomware attacks to law enforcement. The main reasons for this were time pressure due to payment deadlines (65 percent), fear of retaliation (38 percent), and fear that the public might learn about the ransomware attack (38 percent).
- Employees remain a weak point in IT security: Only 39 percent of respondents expressed confidence in their employees' ability to recognize social engineering attacks. Negligence among employees was cited as the biggest challenge in responding to ransomware attacks.
- Slow adoption of AI to combat ransomware: Only 41 percent of German companies are using AI specifically to combat ransomware. At the same time, 56 percent fear that AI could also be used to generate new types of ransomware attacks against their company.
Research methodology
The study, conducted by the Ponemon Institute on behalf of Illumio, surveyed 2.547 IT and cybersecurity professionals in the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan. All participants are responsible for defending against ransomware attacks in their organizations.
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About Illumio
Illumio, the leader in zero-trust segmentation, stops attacks and ransomware from propagating through the hybrid attack surface. The Illumio ZTS platform visualizes all traffic between workloads, devices, and the web, automatically sets granular segmentation policies to control data flow, and isolates high-value assets and vulnerable systems proactively or in response to active attacks.