Sophos, a cybersecurity firm, has released its “State of Ransomware 2023” report which states that ransomware operators are getting better at encrypting data during attacks. The report surveyed 3,000 cybersecurity and IT leaders and found that 76% of ransomware attacks resulted in data being encrypted, which is the highest percentage in three years.
The report also warns that companies that pay the ransom face double the recovery costs of those that use their backups. Companies that paid the ransom had recovery costs of $750,000, while those that used their backups spent $375,000. The report also found that organizations using backups recovered their data within a week, compared to two in five of those who paid the ransom.
Sophos also warns that despite reports suggesting otherwise, the number of ransomware attacks is not dwindling but is plateauing. The survey found that 66% of firms had been attacked by ransomware this year, which was the same as last year. The report also highlights the importance of keeping software and hardware updated, as system vulnerabilities are most commonly used to launch ransomware attacks (36%) rather than compromised credentials (29%).
According to Chester Wisniewski, field CTO at Sophos, the rate of encryption has returned to very high levels after a temporary dip during the pandemic, which is concerning. Wisniewski also said that paying ransoms not only enriches criminals, but it also slows incident response and adds cost to an already devastatingly expensive situation.
