75% of organizations have been affected by at least one ransomware attack in the last 12 months.
According to Veeam's Data Protection Trends report, three-quarters (75%) of organizations were affected by at least one ransomware attack in the past year.
A survey was conducted among managers and specialists in the field of IT and cybersecurity.
"Statistically speaking, ransomware attacks are not an 'if' question, but a 'when' question, and the consequences will be worse than you think, " commented Jason Buffington, Veeam's vice president of market strategy, during a virtual briefing.
According to him, some of the respondents who reported no attacks last year may have already been hacked, but they don't know about it yet. "From other studies, it is known that attackers can secretly stay in the victim's system for up to 200 days before causing damage or demanding a ransom," Buffington added.
According to the survey, cyber attacks are the most common cause of technical problems-this was stated by 40% of the 1,200 IT managers surveyed. 18% of participants said that it was cyber attacks that caused the most devastating disruptions in the work of their organizations.
However, Buffington points out that cyber threats are far from the only risk that modern organizations should consider. "If you focus only on cybersecurity, what will you do when there are technical problems, important files are accidentally deleted, or a fire breaks out?" he asked rhetorically, adding that "ransomware is a problem, but not the only problem to keep in mind."
According to the report, many IT managers are now focusing on upgrading their data backup systems. 54% of respondents plan to improve the solutions they use during 2024.
Among the key factors pushing companies to upgrade such systems are improving the reliability and efficiency of processes (36%), expanding the ability to detect and counter cyber attacks (31%), and introducing specialized tools to protect different types of information (30%).
In 2024, many companies will increase their data protection budgets by 6.6% compared to 2023. This exceeds the expectations of the largest analytical agencies: more than 90% of respondents said that they plan to raise investment in 2024, compared with 85% a year earlier.
At the same time, there is no evidence that major players intend to focus their attention exclusively on backups. As Veeam's Dave Russell pointed out in an interview, backups are seen as the last line of defense, not the primary means of fighting ransomware.
At the same time, some backup solution providers are positioning themselves as full-fledged cybersecurity firms. This can give managers the false impression that such products completely eliminate the danger. "In fact, if the case has reached us, it means that at some stage of your threat prevention strategy there was a failure," Buffington emphasizes.
Another important finding of the Veeam report is that almost half (47%) of CEOs and data protection professionals intend to find new jobs outside of their current organizations over the next 12 months.
Only a third of respondents (33%) are going to stay in their current role and company, and a fifth (19%) are still undecided.
The main concerns of respondents regarding work were: lack of opportunities for learning and mastering new skills, inability to influence the company's strategic direction, consequences of cyber attacks and other incidents, lack of career growth and support from management.
"Company managers need to retain their data protection specialists to ensure cyber resilience and be prepared for other incidents. The loss of important personnel puts the organization in a deliberately losing position, when crises inevitably occur," the report says.
According to Veeam's Data Protection Trends report, three-quarters (75%) of organizations were affected by at least one ransomware attack in the past year.
A survey was conducted among managers and specialists in the field of IT and cybersecurity.
"Statistically speaking, ransomware attacks are not an 'if' question, but a 'when' question, and the consequences will be worse than you think, " commented Jason Buffington, Veeam's vice president of market strategy, during a virtual briefing.
According to him, some of the respondents who reported no attacks last year may have already been hacked, but they don't know about it yet. "From other studies, it is known that attackers can secretly stay in the victim's system for up to 200 days before causing damage or demanding a ransom," Buffington added.
According to the survey, cyber attacks are the most common cause of technical problems-this was stated by 40% of the 1,200 IT managers surveyed. 18% of participants said that it was cyber attacks that caused the most devastating disruptions in the work of their organizations.
However, Buffington points out that cyber threats are far from the only risk that modern organizations should consider. "If you focus only on cybersecurity, what will you do when there are technical problems, important files are accidentally deleted, or a fire breaks out?" he asked rhetorically, adding that "ransomware is a problem, but not the only problem to keep in mind."
According to the report, many IT managers are now focusing on upgrading their data backup systems. 54% of respondents plan to improve the solutions they use during 2024.
Among the key factors pushing companies to upgrade such systems are improving the reliability and efficiency of processes (36%), expanding the ability to detect and counter cyber attacks (31%), and introducing specialized tools to protect different types of information (30%).
In 2024, many companies will increase their data protection budgets by 6.6% compared to 2023. This exceeds the expectations of the largest analytical agencies: more than 90% of respondents said that they plan to raise investment in 2024, compared with 85% a year earlier.
At the same time, there is no evidence that major players intend to focus their attention exclusively on backups. As Veeam's Dave Russell pointed out in an interview, backups are seen as the last line of defense, not the primary means of fighting ransomware.
At the same time, some backup solution providers are positioning themselves as full-fledged cybersecurity firms. This can give managers the false impression that such products completely eliminate the danger. "In fact, if the case has reached us, it means that at some stage of your threat prevention strategy there was a failure," Buffington emphasizes.
Another important finding of the Veeam report is that almost half (47%) of CEOs and data protection professionals intend to find new jobs outside of their current organizations over the next 12 months.
Only a third of respondents (33%) are going to stay in their current role and company, and a fifth (19%) are still undecided.
The main concerns of respondents regarding work were: lack of opportunities for learning and mastering new skills, inability to influence the company's strategic direction, consequences of cyber attacks and other incidents, lack of career growth and support from management.
"Company managers need to retain their data protection specialists to ensure cyber resilience and be prepared for other incidents. The loss of important personnel puts the organization in a deliberately losing position, when crises inevitably occur," the report says.
