Ransomware attacks were analyzed in a recent report by Veeam. According to new data in the report, one in seven organizations will see almost all (>80%) data affected as a result of a ransomware attack.

The report pulls from 1,200 impacted organizations and nearly 3,000 cyber-attacks. The survey examines key takeaways from these incidents, their impact on IT environments and the steps taken, or needed, to implement data protection strategies that ensure business resiliency.

For the second year in a row, 80% of the organizations surveyed paid the ransom to end an attack and recover data, despite 41% of organizations having a “Do-Not-Pay” policy on ransomware. Still, while 59% paid the ransom and were able to recover data, 21% paid the ransom yet still didn't get their data back from the cyber criminals. Additionally, 16% of organizations avoided paying ransom because they were able to recover from backups.

Following a ransomware attack, IT leaders have two choices: pay the ransom or restore-from-backup. As far as recovery goes, the research reveals that in 93% cyber-events, criminals attempt to attack the backup repositories, resulting in 75% losing at least some of their backup repositories during the attack, and 39% of backup repositories being completely lost.

By attacking the backup solution, attackers remove the option of recovery and essentially force paying the ransom. The good news is that based on lessons learned from those who had been victims: 82% use immutable clouds, 64% use immutable disks and 2% of organizations do not have immutability in at least one tier of their backup solution.

When respondents were asked how they ensure that data is ‘clean’ during restoration, 44% of respondents complete some form of isolated-staging to re-scan data from backup repositories prior to reintroduction into the production environment. Fifty-six percent of organizations run the risk of re-infecting the production environment by not having a means to ensure clean data during recovery.

Twenty-one percent of organizations stated that ransomware is now specifically excluded from their policies, and those with cyber insurance saw changes in their last policy renewals: 74% saw increased premiums, 43% saw increased deductibles, 10% saw coverage benefits reduced.