A newly released industry report on the state of ransomware in 2025 has revealed that exploited vulnerabilities continue to be the predominant technical root cause behind ransomware attacks on organizations worldwide.
For the third consecutive year, 32% of ransomware incidents were attributed to attackers leveraging unpatched or unknown vulnerabilities within organizational IT environments.
This trend underscores the persistent challenge organizations face in maintaining robust vulnerability management and patching regimes, even as threat actors refine their tactics.
The report, based on a comprehensive survey of 3,400 organizations, highlights that compromised credentials remain the second most common attack vector, though their share has decreased from 29% in 2024 to 23% in 2025.
Email-based threats, including malicious attachments and phishing, have also seen a notable uptick, now accounting for 37% of initial access vectors a significant increase from the previous year.
Human Factors Compound Technical Weaknesses
Beyond technical flaws, the report identifies several operational shortcomings that contribute to successful ransomware intrusions.
A lack of cybersecurity expertise was cited by 40.2% of respondents as a key factor, closely followed by unrecognized security gaps (40.1%) and insufficient personnel or monitoring capacity (39.4%).
These findings suggest that many organizations are struggling with both resource constraints and the growing complexity of the threat landscape, making it difficult to detect and respond to sophisticated attacks in a timely manner.
Interestingly, the operational root causes of ransomware incidents varied by organization size and sector.
For example, smaller organizations (100–250 employees) were more likely to be compromised due to credential theft, while larger entities (501–1,000 employees) were disproportionately affected by exploited vulnerabilities.
Sector-specific challenges were also noted, with industries such as energy, manufacturing, and education each reporting different leading causes for their ransomware incidents.
The report notes a significant decrease in the proportion of attacks resulting in data encryption, with only 50% of incidents leading to encrypted data down from 70% in 2024.
This decline is attributed to improved detection and response capabilities, which have enabled more organizations to interrupt attacks before ransomware payloads are deployed.
However, data exfiltration remains a growing concern, as 28% of organizations that experienced data encryption also reported data theft.
Recovery from ransomware attacks has also evolved. While 97% of organizations that suffered data encryption were able to recover their data, reliance on backups has dropped to a six-year low, with only 54% using this method.
Nearly half (49%) of victims opted to pay the ransom, a slight decrease from last year but still the second highest rate in six years.
Ransom Demands
The financial landscape of ransomware is shifting, with the median ransom demand dropping by 34% to $1.32 million in 2025, and the median payment falling by 50% to $1 million.
The reduction is largely due to a decrease in high-value ransom demands and payments, particularly among the largest organizations.
Despite these declines, the overall cost of recovery excluding ransom payments has also decreased by 44% to an average of $1.53 million, reflecting improved incident response and recovery planning.
Organizations are recovering more quickly from attacks, with 53% fully operational within a week, up from 35% in 2024.
However, the human cost remains significant: 41% of IT and cybersecurity teams reported increased anxiety or stress following an attack, and 31% experienced staff absences due to mental health issues.
The 2025 ransomware landscape is characterized by a persistent exploitation of technical vulnerabilities, compounded by operational and human resource challenges.
While improvements in detection, response, and recovery are evident, the evolving tactics of ransomware actors and the continued prevalence of unaddressed vulnerabilities underscore the need for organizations to invest in proactive security measures, continuous staff training, and comprehensive incident response planning to mitigate future risks.
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