97% of Ransomware Victims Seek Law Enforcement Help: Report

Sophos, a provider of cybersecurity solutions, has unveiled new insights from its annual “State of Ransomware 2024” survey. The report indicates that among surveyed organizations, a staggering 97% of those impacted by ransomware attacks in the past year sought assistance from law enforcement or official government entities.

Furthermore, the survey reveals that over half (59%) of the organizations that reached out to law enforcement found the process relatively straightforward, with only 10% describing it as very challenging.

The assistance sought from law enforcement varied, with 61% of respondents receiving advice on handling ransomware incidents, 60% obtaining support for investigating the attacks, and 58% receiving aid in recovering encrypted data.

Chester Wisniewski, Director and Field CTO at Sophos, remarked on the changing attitudes towards engaging with law enforcement following cyberattacks. He noted a shift away from fear of public exposure towards a more normalized approach, spurred in part by new regulations on cyber incident reporting. Wisniewski emphasized the importance of collaboration between public and private sectors to bolster recovery efforts and enhance cyber threat intelligence.

Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of ransomware, Sophos’ Active Adversary report underscores the persistent threat posed to small and medium-sized businesses. Ransomware remains the most prevalent attack type, constituting 70% of incidents investigated by Sophos X-Ops in 2023.

Wisniewski stressed the need to transition from reactive measures to proactive prevention strategies, highlighting the importance of implementing fundamental security measures such as timely patching and multi-factor authentication. He called for enhanced collaboration between public and private sectors at a global scale to effectively combat cybercrime.

FBI Director Christopher Wray echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the bureau’s commitment to partnership with the private sector in addressing cyber threats. Wray highlighted the FBI’s victim-centric approach and underscored the value of collaboration in sharing threat intelligence and conducting joint operations.

The findings of the State of Ransomware 2024 report are based on a comprehensive survey of 5,000 cybersecurity and IT leaders conducted between January and February 2024. Respondents represented organizations across 14 countries, ranging in size and revenue.