From 2022 to 2024, ransomware gangs extorted over $2.1 billion in ransom payments. Reports estimate that around 4,200 ransomware incidents occurred between January 2022 and December 2024. As ransomware statistics and the ransomware impact on businesses continues to rise, organizations that are still reactive instead of proactive are betting their future on luck.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a cyberattack that has the ability to encrypt files, destroy data, and shut down systems until a ransom is paid. These attacks typically spread through social engineering, supply chain attacks, and phishing emails.
A single ransomware attack can be devastating for any organization due to the amount lost from downtime, the payment itself, and the potential effect on the organization’s reputation.
Ransomware Payment Growth from 2022-2024
According to this report, 2023 was the best year for ransomware payments with over 1,500 incidents totaling around $1.1 billion in ransomware payments.
In 2024, that amount fell to around 1,400 incidents, with only $730 million in payments. One thing to keep in mind is that these ransomware statistics are only from attacks that have been reported. These numbers could be significantly higher and exceed over $1 billion in payments for 2024.
Another interesting ransomware statistic is that nearly 50% of companies who are hit by ransomware attacks, opted to pay the ransom. Yet despite this high percentage, around 53% were able to negotiate a price lower than the original demand. Following the growth of ransomware payments, we’ll discuss what industries are most affected by a ransomware impact.
(Ransomware payments from 2022-2024)
Photo by FinCEN
Ransomware Impact on Key Industries
From the FinCEN report, the most targeted industries from the start of 2022 to the end of 2024 were:
- Manufacturing
- Financial Services
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Legal Services
Manufacturing experienced the most incidents with 456 and legal with the least of these industries with 334.
On the financial side the upper range of total ransomware payments reached about $365.6 million for financial services and $181.3 million for the retail sector. Manufacturing, healthcare, and legal services all exceed hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
Attackers focus on these sectors because outage time is extremely expensive and data is highly sensitive. That combination gives ransomware gangs strong leverage, which increases the overall ransomware impact on daily operations, brand reputation, and long term business value.
Photo by FinCEN
The report identified 10 ransomware variants, ordered by the number of incidents, total dollar value of incidents, and the median value. The ransomware impact from ransomware gangs cannot be understated. Most of the payment methods were tracked in the form of cryptocurrency, with around 97% coming from Bitcoin.
Photo by FinCEN
Ransomware Statistics Every Leader Should Know
Overall, ransomware gangs stole $2.1 billion in the form of ransomware payments from businesses between 2022 and 2024. Manufacturing leads with the highest number of incidents while financial services leads with total payment amount.
From 2022 to 2023, there was a 77% increase in ransomware payments. However, in 2024, those statistics fell due to law enforcement targeting notable ransomware gangs. While this has reduced the amount of ransomware payments, it represents only a temporary shift in the overall threat landscape.
With roughly 7 in 10 cyberattacks being from ransomware and over 317 million attempts recorded, businesses need to act now in order to ensure the security of their sensitive data.
How Businesses Can Avoid Ransomware Payments
If you want to avoid becoming part of the next wave of ransomware statistics, you cannot wait until after an incident to act. Here are a few focused moves that dramatically cut both the likelihood and impact of a ransomware payment:
- Strengthen Access to Data: Strong, unique passwords, MFA on every account, strict role-based access, and limited admin accounts.
- Modern Threat Detection: Endpoint detection and response and 24/7 monitoring to detect and stop hackers before they can spread or deploy ransomware.
- Offline, Tested Backups: Secure copies of critical systems and regular restore tests ensure your business can recover without paying in the event of an attack.
- Network Segmentation: Separate critical systems so one compromised device does not take down the whole environment.
- Incident Response Practice: Cybersecurity training with everyone in the organization will help ensure everyone knows exactly what to do if a cyberattack were to occur.
If this all feels overwhelming or you are not sure where to start, this is where we come in. Kirkham IronTech helps businesses turn a ransomware payment risk into a proactive plan that stops threats before they ever touch your business.
Contact us today and spend just 15 minutes with our team and get clarity on how a ransomware attack could impact your business, and what we do to ensure it doesn’t happen.
Tom Kirkham brings more than three decades of software design, network administration, and cybersecurity knowledge to organizations around the country. During his career, Tom has received multiple software design awards and founded other acclaimed technology businesses.
