The State of Ransomware 2023

Findings from an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 3,000 leaders responsible for IT/cybersecurity across 14 countries, conducted in January-March 2023.

Sophos’ annual study of the real-world ransomware experiences of IT/cybersecurity leaders makes clear the realities facing organizations in 2023. It reveals the most common root causes of attacks and shines new light on how experiences with ransomware differ based on organization revenue. The report also reveals the business and operational impact of paying the ransom to recover data rather than using backups.

About the Survey

Sophos commissioned an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 3,000 IT/ cybersecurity leaders in organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. The survey was conducted between January and March 2023, and respondents were asked to respond based on their experiences over the previous year. Within the education sector, respondents were split into lower education (catering to students up to 18 years) and higher education (for students over 18 years).