Ransomware Statistics [2026]: Costs, Trends & Attack Data

🚨 Key Ransomware Numbers (2026)

Ransomware is now present in 44% of all data breaches, up from 32% the prior year (Verizon DBIR 2025). Attacks surged 58% in 2025 (HIPAA Journal), and ransomware-linked encounters increased 2.75x between July 2022 and June 2024 (Microsoft). Global ransomware damages are estimated at $57 billion annually, costing $156 million per day and $2,400 per second (Cybersecurity Ventures). By 2031, annual damages are projected to reach $265 billion.

15 organizations fall victim to ransomware every day (Halcyon). 73% of organizations reported at least one ransomware attack in 2024 (Fortinet). The median ransom demand is $1.32 million (Sophos 2025), but 64% of organizations now refuse to pay (Verizon DBIR 2025). For those that do pay, the median payment is $115,000 — just 8.7% of the demanded amount.

📈 Ransomware Attack Trends & Frequency

How common is ransomware? It grew from 32% to 44% of all data breaches in a single year (Verizon DBIR 2025). Attack volume surged 58% in 2025 (HIPAA Journal). 73% of organizations reported being hit at least once in 2024 (Fortinet), and 15 organizations are victimized daily (Halcyon). Microsoft reports a 2.75x increase in ransomware-linked encounters between July 2022 and June 2024.

The ransomware ecosystem is expanding. 55 new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) families emerged in 2024, a 67% increase year-over-year (Travelers Insurance). 95 active ransomware gangs are now tracked (Halcyon), up 40% from the previous year. Double extortion (encrypting data plus threatening to leak it) is the norm, present in 87.6% of ransomware claims (Travelers). 63% of attackers go undetected for up to 6 months before deploying ransomware (Fortinet).

79% of initial access attacks are now malware-free (CrowdStrike 2025), meaning ransomware gangs increasingly rely on stolen credentials, access brokers, and living-off-the-land techniques to establish footholds before deploying encryption payloads.

💰 Cost of Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware breach costs average $5.08 million per incident (IBM 2025), making it the most expensive initial attack vector. The mean recovery cost excluding the ransom itself is $1.53 million globally (Sophos 2025), down from $2.73 million in 2024. The median ransom demand is $1.32 million (Sophos 2025), down from $2 million, though average demands hit $2 million with 500% year-over-year growth in some surveys.

The largest single ransom payment recorded in 2024 was $75 million to the Dark Angels group (Mandiant M-Trends). Annual global ransomware damages total $57 billion (Cybersecurity Ventures), projected to reach $265 billion by 2031. That's $156 million per day, $6.5 million per hour, and $2,400 per second in ransomware costs worldwide.

Beyond direct costs, ransomware triggers layoffs in victim organizations (Fortinet), and total crypto ransom payments tracked by blockchain analysis totalled $813 million in 2024, a 35% decline year-over-year (Chainalysis) — driven by more organizations refusing to pay.

💸 Ransom Payment Statistics

64% of organizations now refuse to pay ransom demands, up from 59% the prior year (Verizon DBIR 2025). Among those who pay, the median payment is $115,000 (Verizon) or $110,890 (Coveware Q4 2024) — well below the median demand of $1.32 million. Victims negotiate aggressively: the actual payment is roughly 8.7% of the initial demand.

75% of paying victims send the ransom within 48 hours of the attack (Halcyon), suggesting panic-driven decisions. Total tracked cryptocurrency ransom payments fell to $813 million in 2024, a 35% decline year-over-year (Chainalysis), indicating the refusal trend is having a financial impact on ransomware operators.

The outcomes for those who pay are poor. 80% are attacked again within 12 months (Fortinet 2024). Only 4% recover ALL their data after paying (Fortinet). The largest single payment in 2024 was $75 million to the Dark Angels group.

🏭 Ransomware Attacks by Industry

Manufacturing is the most targeted sector for ransomware by volume (Group-IB 2024), driven by operational downtime pressure that makes manufacturers more likely to pay. Manufacturing ransomware attacks rose 56% year-over-year (IndustrialCyber 2025). Healthcare is the most costly, with breach costs averaging $11.2 million (IBM 2025) and 67% of healthcare organizations reporting ransomware attacks (Sophos 2024). 25.6 million healthcare records were compromised by ransomware in 2024 (Comparitech).

Financial services face broad exposure: 78% of financial institutions reported ransomware attacks (Sophos) and 65% were hit in 2024 (Sophos Financial Services report). Education ransomware surged in 2025 (Sophos), while government agencies face a 34% hit rate but a 98% encryption rate (Sophos) — meaning when government data is hit, it's almost always encrypted.

🔄 Ransomware Recovery & Backup

Recovery from ransomware takes a median of 100+ days for full operational restoration (Sophos 2024). The mean recovery cost excluding the ransom is $1.53 million globally (Sophos 2025), down from $2.73 million in 2024. 97% of organizations recover at least some encrypted data (Sophos 2025), but only 4% of those who pay the ransom recover ALL their data (Fortinet).

Backups are the primary target. 96% of ransomware attacks target backup repositories (Veeam 2024), and 76% of those attempts succeed in compromising backups. This explains why paying the ransom rarely results in full recovery: even when decryption keys work, corrupted or deleted backups mean incomplete restoration.

80% of organizations that pay the ransom are attacked again within 12 months (Fortinet), and many organizations lay off staff post-ransomware (Fortinet). Government recovery costs average $2.83 million (Sophos), while healthcare recovery averages $2.57 million (Sophos 2024).

🚪 How Ransomware Gets In

Exploited vulnerabilities are the top ransomware entry point at 32% of incidents (Sophos 2025), with vulnerability exploitation as an initial attack vector rising 34% year-over-year (Verizon DBIR 2025). Compromised credentials remain a primary vector, facilitated by 79% of initial access being malware-free (CrowdStrike 2025).

Access broker advertisements on dark web forums increased 50% year-over-year (CrowdStrike 2025), enabling less technical actors to purchase initial access to corporate networks. 90%+ of ransomware attacks reaching the ransom stage originated from unmanaged devices (Microsoft 2024). 63% of attackers go undetected for up to 6 months before deploying ransomware (Fortinet), using the dwell time to map networks, exfiltrate data, and disable security controls.

🎭 Top Ransomware Groups

95 active ransomware gangs are now tracked globally (Halcyon), a 40% increase year-over-year. LockBit remains the most prolific variant, accounting for 6.69% of all ransomware incidents in 2023 (industry reports), though law enforcement operations in 2024 disrupted their infrastructure. 55 new ransomware-as-a-service families were identified in 2024, a 67% increase (Travelers Insurance).

Double extortion is now standard operating procedure: 87.6% of ransomware claims involve both data encryption and data exfiltration (Travelers). The Dark Angels group collected the largest single ransom payment of $75 million in 2024 (Mandiant M-Trends). The RaaS model continues to lower barriers to entry, enabling less technically skilled affiliates to launch sophisticated attacks using established infrastructure.

🤖 AI-Powered Ransomware

80% of ransomware attacks now leverage AI tools in some capacity (MIT Technology Review 2025). AI is used in reconnaissance, crafting phishing emails, automating vulnerability exploitation, and negotiating ransom payments. 79% of initial access attacks are malware-free (CrowdStrike 2025), relying on AI-assisted identity attacks that bypass traditional signature-based detection.

On defence, AI delivers measurable results. Organizations with extensive AI/automation pay $3.62 million per breach versus $5.52 million without — a $1.9 million saving and 34% cost reduction (IBM 2025). AI cuts detection time by 21 days. But 63% of ransomware attackers go undetected for 6+ months (Fortinet), indicating that AI detection is not yet universally deployed or effective against the most sophisticated operators.

🌍 Ransomware by Country

North America recorded 3,259 ransomware incidents in 2024, the highest of any region (Group-IB). India's ransomware attacks rose 24% year-over-year (CERT-In), part of a broader pattern of rapid growth in emerging markets. Government agencies globally faced confirmed ransomware attacks (Comparitech 2024), with average ransom demands against government targets tracked separately.

The geographic distribution of ransomware reflects economic targets. Wealthier nations with mature digital infrastructure face higher attack volumes, but the fastest growth rates are in developing economies where cybersecurity defences are less mature. The US alone accounts for the majority of global ransomware losses, driven by larger ransom demands, higher recovery costs, and greater regulatory exposure.

⚡ Critical Infrastructure & Government

28% of ransomware attacks target critical infrastructure sectors (Verizon DBIR 2025). Government agencies face a 34% ransomware hit rate (Sophos 2024), but when they are hit, the data encryption rate reaches 98% (Sophos) — the highest of any sector. Government ransomware recovery costs average $2.83 million (Sophos), and US government downtime from ransomware cost an estimated $70 billion between 2018-2022 (Comparitech).

Critical infrastructure breach costs average $4.82 million (IBM 2025). Utilities ransomware increased significantly (DeepStrike 2025), reflecting the convergence of IT and OT systems. OT ransomware surged in 2025 (Nozomi), and ICS ransomware increased in Q2 2024 (Kaspersky). The combination of legacy systems, operational constraints, and public safety implications makes critical infrastructure particularly vulnerable.

🏢 Ransomware & Small Businesses

88% of small and medium business breaches involve ransomware (Verizon DBIR 2025), a disproportionately higher rate than large enterprises. 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses (Cybersecurity Magazine / Verizon), yet SMBs have the fewest resources to defend against and recover from attacks. 47% of small organizations (under $10M revenue) reported being hit by ransomware in 2024 (Sophos).

The consequences are severe. 60% of small businesses close within 6 months of a major cyberattack (NCSA). 19% of SMBs face bankruptcy post-attack (Verizon DBIR 2025). Small businesses lack the IT staff, incident response plans, and financial reserves to absorb a ransomware attack — making them both the most targeted and the most vulnerable segment.

👮 Reporting & Law Enforcement

Organizations that involve law enforcement in ransomware incidents save an average of $990,000 per breach ($4.38M vs $5.37M without law enforcement, IBM 2025). That's an 18% cost reduction for an action that costs nothing. The FBI reported 238 ransomware incidents targeting US healthcare alone in 2024 (FBI IC3).

64% of organizations now refuse to pay ransom demands (Verizon DBIR 2025), and total cryptocurrency ransom payments fell to $813 million in 2024, a 35% decline (Chainalysis). The combination of law enforcement disruption operations (LockBit takedown), increased refusal rates, and government guidance discouraging payments is shifting the economics against ransomware operators.

📋 Key Takeaways

❓ Frequently Asked Questions