Veeam Report Finds Close to 70% of Organizations Still Under Cyber-Attack Despite Improved Defenses
As cyber threats continue to evolve, new Veeam research
highlights alarming recovery rates and emphasizes the urgent need for robust
data resilience strategies
MUMBAI,
INDIA: VeeamON 2025 – April 25, 2025 – Veeam® Software, the #1 global leader by
market share in Data Resilience, today announced the findings of their latest
research, From Risk to
Resilience: Veeam 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies Report, revealing alarming
insights into the evolving threat landscape of ransomware attacks. With cyber
threats becoming more sophisticated and frequent, the report underlines the
need for organizations to prioritize their defenses, mitigate risks, and
recover effectively. To help address these persistent cyber threats, the report
shares several actionable steps organizations can take to bolster defense,
mitigate risk and recover more quickly, as well as the best practices of
companies able to successfully recover. Veeam surveyed 1,300 organizations to
gauge how Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), security professionals,
and IT leaders are recovering from cyber-threats.
Ransomware attacks are becoming more refined and pervasive,
posing significant challenges to organizations globally. The Veeam report
reveals that while the percentage of companies impacted by ransomware attacks
has slightly declined from 75% to 69%, the threat remains substantial. This
decrease is attributed to improved preparation and resilience practices, as
well as increased collaboration between IT and security teams. However, as
ransomware attacks from both established groups and “lone wolf” actors proliferate,
organizations must adopt proactive cyber resilience strategies to mitigate
risks and recover more swiftly and effectively from incidents.
"Organizations are improving their defenses against
cyber-attacks, yet 7 out of 10 still experienced an attack in the past year.
And of those attacked, only 10% recovered more than 90% of their data, while
57% recovered less than 50%. Our latest findings clearly indicate that the
threat of ransomware will continue to challenge organizations throughout 2025
and beyond," said Anand Eswaran, CEO of Veeam. "As the nature and
timing of attacks evolve, it is essential for every organization to transition
from reactive security measures to proactive data resilience strategies. By
adopting a proactive security approach, investing in strong recovery solutions,
and fostering collaboration across departments, organizations can significantly
reduce the impact of ransomware attacks."
Key Findings and Trends to Watch in 2025:
- Law Enforcement is Forcing
Threat Actors to Adapt: In 2024, coordinated efforts by law enforcement agencies led to
significant disruptions in major ransomware groups, such as LockBit and
BlackCat. However, the rise of smaller groups and independent attackers has
increased, necessitating ongoing vigilance.
- Data Exfiltration Attacks
Grow: The report notes a troubling trend toward exfiltration-only
attacks – when cybercriminals break into an organization's network but do not
encrypt or lock the data. Instead, they focus on stealing sensitive
information—like personal data, financial records, or intellectual property—and
transferring it outside the organization. Organizations with weak cybersecurity
measures are particularly vulnerable, as threat actors rapidly exploit
vulnerabilities, often within hours.
- Ransomware Payments Are
Decreasing: The total value of ransomware payments fell in 2024, with 36% of
affected organizations opting not to pay a ransom. Of those that did pay, 82%
paid less than the initial ransom and 60% paid less than half that sum,
emphasizing the importance of robust recovery strategies.
- Legal Consequences of
Ransom Payments are Emerging: New regulations and legal frameworks are discouraging ransom
payments, with initiatives like the International Counter Ransomware Initiative
urging organizations to strengthen their defenses rather than capitulate to
attackers.
- Collaboration Reinforces
Resilience Against Ransomware: Enhanced communication between IT operations and security teams,
along with partnerships with law enforcement and industry players, has proven
vital in fortifying defenses against ransomware.
- Budgets Rise for Security
and Recovery, but More Is Needed: While organizations are allocating more resources
to security and recovery efforts, there remains a significant gap in investment
relative to the growing threat landscape.
Organizations that prioritize data resilience can recover from
attacks up to seven times faster and experience significantly lower data loss
rates. These successful organizations share several common attributes,
including robust backup and recovery strategies, proactive security measures,
and effective incident response plans. The report emphasizes the importance of
shifting from reactive security to proactive cyber resilience strategies to
meet the challenges of ransomware. Findings from the report also encouraged
organizations to adopt the 3-2-1-1-0 data resilience rule, ensuring that
backups are immutable and free from malware before restoration.
Pre-attack confidence among ransomware victims often doesn't
reflect reality, as 69% believed they were prepared before being attacked,
while their confidence plummeted by over 20% afterward, revealing significant
gaps in planning. While 98% of respondents had a ransomware playbook, less than half of organizations had
key technical elements included, such as
backup verifications and frequencies (44%) and a pre-defined “chain of
command” (30%). Notably, CIOs
experienced a 30% decline in their preparedness rating post-attack, compared to
a 15% drop for CISOs, suggesting that CISOs have a clearer grasp of their
organization's security posture. These findings underscore the importance of
fostering organizational alignment in cyber resilience and preparation,
emphasizing the need for regular training and exercises across all teams to
ensure a coordinated response during and after an attack.
The full Veeam 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies
Report is available now for download at https://go.veeam.com/ransomware-trends. For more information on Veeam, visit https://www.veeam.com.
The Veeam 2025 Ransomware
Trends and Proactive Strategies Report surveyed 1,300 organizations, 900 of
which had experienced at least one ransomware attack resulting in encryption or
exfiltration in the past 12 months. The respondents comprised Chief Information
Security Officers (CISOs) or executives with similar responsibilities, as well
as security professionals and IT leaders from across the Americas, Europe, and
Australia.
About Veeam Software
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market leader in data resilience, believes every business should be able to
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