Cohesity Research Reveals Most Companies Pay Millions in Ransoms

Cohesity’s press release details a survey of 902 IT and Security leaders in the US, UK, and Australia indicating pervasive ransomware impact and growing risk in 2024. Key findings: 79% reported being ransomware victims in the prior half-year, 96% expect threat increases, and 90% had paid a ransom in the past two years despite 84% having ‘do not pay’ policies; 94% would pay a ransom to recover operations, with 67% willing to pay over $3M. Recovery readiness is weak—100% need over 24 hours to recover, only 7% can restore in 1–3 days, and 23% need over 3 weeks; just 12% stress-tested data security/recovery in the prior six months. Respondents cite executive misalignment, business continuity risks, and limited regulatory influence, emphasizing the need for modern, AI‑powered data security and rapid recovery capabilities.