83% of Organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in the last year

A recent report reveals that 83% of organizations faced ransomware attacks in the past year, with significant impacts on ERP systems, prompting 93% to seek dedicated ERP security solutions, while concerns grow over AI-enhanced threats and organizations increasingly adjusting their cybersecurity strategies and investments.

Ransomware is an all-too-common occurrence: 83% of organizations have experienced at least one ransomware attack in the last year, 46% of respondents experienced four or more and 14% indicated they experienced 10 or more. Of those respondents who experienced at least one ransomware attack in the last year, 61% said it resulted in downtime of at least 24 hours, according to Onapsis.

Of those organizations that experienced ransomware attacks, 89% said their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications and systems were affected at least once. The majority of respondents realize this is a business-critical issue, with 93% agreeing it’s necessary to have a dedicated ERP security solution.

Growing concerns about AI-enabled threats
According to Gartner, AI-enhanced malicious attacks was the top most commonly cited concern in the first quarter of 2024 based on the research firm’s emerging risk rankings.

“While the volume of these attacks isn’t surprising, the increasing impact to ERP applications is notable and it will only get worse amidst AI-enabled threats,” said Mariano Nunez, CEO of Onapsis. “This reflects ransomware actors realizing that disrupting ERP and business-critical applications gives them the most leverage, as downtime is measured in millions of dollars per hour at large organizations. The research is also clear in that generic security solutions on the market are falling short.”

How companies handle ransomware
When asked if they communicated with the threat actor executing the ransomware attack, 69% said yes. As for whether organizations are paying the ransom, respondents were split: 34% pay every time, 21% pay only some of the time, and 45% never pay.

Many organizations are turning to outside support to help manage ransomware, with 83% of respondents who paid the ransom at least once saying they have worked with a ransomware broker.

Ransomware has become so prevalent and problematic, 96% of organizations realized they’ve needed to make changes to their security strategy. When asked how ransomware has influenced their cybersecurity investment:

57% invested in new solutions
54% invested in employee training
53% added more cybersecurity staff internally
36% hired an outside threat research team