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.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
Sophos. (April 30, 2024). Root causes of ransomware attacks in organizations worldwide as of February 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 04, 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 04, 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 04, 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 04, 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/