Understanding Ransomware: Key Trends and Impacts

Ransomware has become one of the most devastating cyber threats of modern times, leading to severe financial and operational challenges for organizations across all sectors. As cybercriminals continue to refine their strategies using increasingly sophisticated tools, understanding key trends, targeted industries, and the financial impact is vital for mitigating these risks effectively.

Recognizing this, the Cyentia Institute, a data-driven cybersecurity research firm, has released its Information Risk Insights Study on Ransomware. This comprehensive report explores the frequency and impact of ransomware events, utilizing a vast dataset encompassing more than 14,000 ransomware incidents, which translate to over a billion records and estimated financial losses exceeding $270 billion over the past five years.

Below, we will explore some major points uncovered in this report.

 

Attacks Vs. Incidents

The study differentiates between ransomware attacks, which are thwarted attempts, and ransomware incidents, which are successful breaches leading to operational or financial harm. This distinction helps ensure that findings emphasize the genuine impact of ransomware incidents—not just attempted breaches.

 

Ransomware Incidents: Low Frequency, High Impact

While many businesses experience numerous ransomware attack attempts, only a small percentage result in successful incidents. These successful breaches, however, carry outsize financial and operational effects:

  • High costs: The geometric mean loss for ransomware incidents stands at $1.4 million, over 12 times more than that for non-ransomware events.

  • Considerable financial impact: At the 95th percentile, ransomware losses can skyrocket to $50 million, compared to $22 million for other incidents.

  • Escalating costs: The 25th percentile loss for ransomware in 2023 equaled typical losses seen in 2019, highlighting the rising financial burden of these attacks.

The Total Economic Impact of Ransomware

The economic damages caused by ransomware are astounding. The estimated global impact over the past five years stands at $276 billion, with a projected $95 billion in 2023 alone. These figures starkly illustrate ransomware’s potential to cause economic destruction on par with natural disasters.

 

Targeted Industries: Uneven Impacts

Certain sectors bear an outsized share of financial repercussions from ransomware attacks. The data shows that ransomware accounts for the majority of cyber-related losses in industries where operational disruptions are particularly costly:

  • Transportation, Education, and Manufacturing: Ransomware comprises approximately 80% of reported cyber losses in these sectors.

  • Healthcare and Hospitality: These fields also face significant financial impacts, reflecting their high-stakes operational contexts.

  • Financial and Professional Services: Despite reporting fewer incidents, these sectors remain high-value targets due to the sensitive data they safeguard.

Midsize entities ($100M–$1B in revenue) experience the highest proportional ransomware losses, while large corporations ($100B+) face significantly less proportional impact, with ransomware representing less than 1% of their losses.

 

Ransomware Campaigns and Active Groups

The report compiles the most frequently identified ransomware incidents between 2019 and 2023, showcasing the continued activity of specific ransomware gangs. Noteworthy names include:

  • Cl0P: 1840 incidents

  • Lockbit 3.0: 978 incidents

  • Conti: 711 incidents

  • Alphv/BlackCat: 573 incidents

  • Revil/Sodinokibi: 353 incidents

This dataset arises from publicly reported events and reflects the impact on individual entities rather than campaign volumes or detected malware counts.

    Mitigation and the Road Ahead

    The report recommends utilizing resources from StopRansomware.gov for effective prevention, mitigation, and response strategies. Further, initiatives like CISA’s Secure by Design promote secure software development practices to curb vulnerabilities and boost cyber resilience.

    Ransomware poses a major business risk with potential ramifications for reputation, compliance, and financial stability. As threat actors continue developing their approaches, organizations must remain vigilant, using insights from data to enhance defenses and response strategies.

    Collaboration among industries, government agencies, and cybersecurity entities will be crucial in reducing ransomware’s impact and fostering resilience in our increasingly digital world.