Global companies succumb to ransomware: 86% of companies pay despite having advanced backup tools
Despite the explosion of cybersecurity tools and advocacy campaigns, organizations around the world are still surrendering to ransomware attackers at a startling pace. According to new research by Rubrik Zero Labs, 86% of organizations around the world have admitted to paying ransom requirements after cyber attacks over the past year – a figure highlighting a grim reality: Recovery rather than prevention, and most defenses are still collapsing.
The finding comes from Rubrik’s 2025 report, “State of Data Security: Distributed Crisis,” which surveys more than 1,600 IT and security leaders in ten countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, India and Singapore. The report shows that even if businesses embrace hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure for increased agility, many people are simply not ready to recover from ransomware without surrendering to ransomware.
The backup system is attacking
A key insight from the report is that 74% of organizations say their backup and recovery infrastructure has been partially damaged, while 35% report complete compromise. The goal of this recovery system has become a hallmark of modern ransomware activity.
