Ransomware demands increasingly paid amid growing attack severity

SiliconAngle reports that increasingly severe ransomware attacks have been accompanied by the growing willingness to pay attackers' demands. More than 80% of data among one in seven organizations could be compromised in ransomware attacks, with 93% of attacks aimed at backups and 75% of those hindering recovery efforts, while the rate of organizations paying ransoms rose by 4% to 80% in 2022 even though anti-ransomware payment policies were in effect among 41% of organizations, according to a report from Veeam. Researchers also found that risk management programs have been in place among 87% of organizations but only 35% noted that their programs were well-suited. Moreover, cyber insurance coverage for ransomware attacks has also been declining, with 20% of surveyed IT leaders citing ransomware exclusions from their policies, despite increasing insurance costs. Organizations have been urged to conduct regular evaluations of ransomware recoverability in their risk management plans, ensure clean backups, and leverage a staged restoration approach in the event of a ransomware attack.