The fifth Sophos annual study of the real-world ransomware experiences of organizations around the globe explores the full victim journey, from root cause through to severity of attack, financial impact, and recovery time. Fresh new insights combined with learnings from our previous studies reveal the realities facing businesses today as well as how the impact of ransomware has evolved over the last five years.
This year’s report also incorporates brand new areas of study, including exploration of ransom demands vs. ransom payments, together with a heightened focus on the impact an organization’s revenue has on their ransomware outcomes. Plus, for the first time, it shines a light on the role of law enforcement in ransomware remediation.
A note on reporting dates
To enable easy comparison of data across our annual surveys, we name the report for the year in which the survey was conducted: in this case, 2024. We are mindful that respondents are sharing their experiences over the previous year, so many of the attacks referenced occurred in 2023.
About the survey
The report is based on the findings of an independent, vendor-agnostic survey commissioned by Sophos of 5,000 IT/cybersecurity leaders across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. All respondents represent organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees. The survey was conducted by research specialist Vanson Bourne between January and February 2024, and participants were asked to respond based on their experiences over the previous year. Within the education sector, respondents were split into lower education (catering to students up to 18 years) and higher education (for students over 18 years).
