{"id":12114,"date":"2024-10-14T11:33:30","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T15:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/?p=12114"},"modified":"2025-07-17T10:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T14:45:19","slug":"ransomware-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/ransomware-statistics\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Ransomware Statistics You\u2019re Powerless to Resist Reading [Updated for 2024]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

$4.91 million \u2014 that\u2019s what IBM\u2019s 2024 report<\/a> indicates is the average cost of a ransomware attack. But this ransomware statistic doesn\u2019t include the cost of the ransom demand itself, which could cost tens of millions!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/em><\/strong> This ransomware statistics article was originally published in February 2020. The content was updated in May 2022 and again in October 2024 with new statistics, data, and content.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s kick off our ransomware statistics list with one gut-wrenching number: $75 million.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On its face, this number may not seem all that devastating, but this is the amount Zscaler reports<\/a> a single company reportedly paid the Dark Angels ransomware<\/a> gang. Again, this amount was the ransom that was paid to the threat actors \u2014 this isn\u2019t even representative of other costs the company faced as a result of the ransomware attack!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put this in perspective, this single ransom payment is the equivalent of Serbia\u2019s GDP value (according to 2023 data from the World Bank Group<\/a>). Knowing this, we\u2019ll explore other ransomware statistics that help put this thriving criminal enterprise into perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s hash it out.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n

Ransomware Statistics You Should Know in 2024 and Beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve broken down these ransomware statistics into smaller sub-lists relating to ransomware costs (yeah, we know that\u2019s mainly why you\u2019re here), the breakdown of industries being targeted, and ways that organizations are fighting back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just Want the Highlights?<\/p>

Jump straight to the TL;DR section<\/a> to get the highlights from this ransomware statistics list.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware Statistics: The Costs of Ransomware Attacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This year alone, we\u2019ve seen record-breaking ransom payments. But these aren\u2019t the only costs businesses face as a result of ransomware attacks. There are direct and indirect costs relating to mitigation and recovery efforts, and those amounts vary based on the scope of the attacks and each company\u2019s level of preparedness to deal with such situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of whether a company chooses to pay a ransom<\/a>, reaches out to law enforcement, or tries to deal with the situation themselves without the help of law enforcement, it\u2019s still going to cost them a lot, both in terms of money and reputational harm. And those attacks continue to increase when attackers go above and beyond the traditional extortion methods and publish or sell extricated data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s explore some of the most notable ransomware statistics relating to direct and indirect costs of these attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Unpatched Vulnerabilities Lead to 4X Higher Recovery Costs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Data from Sophos\u2019s State of Ransomware 2024 survey report<\/a> indicates that organizations whose ransomware attacks began with unpatched vulnerability exploits experienced slower recovery time and recovery costs that were four times higher than ransomware attacks that stemmed from compromised credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophos researchers share that 99% of the survey respondents indicated that they could identify how the attacks started. Here\u2019s an overview of how the identified ransomware attacks started over the past two years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ransomware
Data source: Sophos\u2019s State of Ransomware 2024 report. Looking for earlier data? Sorry, they didn\u2019t publish any in their earlier reports!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Ransomware Costs Nearly $60 Million in Adjusted Losses in 2023<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A total of 2,825 ransomware attacks were reported to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2023<\/a>. While the number of attack complaints received that year was down from those reported in 2021 (3,729), the adjusted losses associated with this attack method came in more than $10 million higher, coming in at $59,641,384 in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, keep in mind that these adjusted losses don\u2019t account for some indirect and direct costs, such as lost business opportunities, equipment, files, time, wages, or third-party remediation costs. Furthermore, the FBI indicates that it\u2019s an \u201cartificially low overall ransomware loss rate\u201d for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n