A 2024 survey of cybersecurity professionals of organizations worldwide revealed that 32 percent of the organizations suffered ransomware attacks because of exploited vulnerabilities. Credential compromise was the second-most common cause of successful ransomware attacks, while malicious e-mail ranked third.
Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024
IT decision makers and cybersecurity leaders of 100-5,000 employee organizations
Supplementary notes
The original question was phrased by the source as follows: "Do you know the root cause of the ransomware attack your organization experienced in the last year? Selection of answer options. Base numbers in chart."
Organizations with 100-5,000 employees. 2023 data was conducted in 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.
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Sophos. (April 30, 2024). Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 31, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/
Sophos. "Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024." Chart. April 30, 2024. Statista. Accessed December 31, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/
Sophos. (2024). Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 31, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/
Sophos. "Root Causes of Ransomware Attacks in Organizations Worldwide as of February 2024." Statista, Statista Inc., 30 Apr 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/
Sophos, Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/ (last visited December 31, 2024)
Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph], Sophos, April 30, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1410445/cause-ransomware-attacks-global/
