Report also finds effective backups can reduce the likelihood of paying a ransom by as much as 3X, and that Cloud backups improve recovery rate by up to 80%.

Key news highlights: 

• • Despite 92% of businesses reporting having backups, more than 1 in 4 businesses (31%) fail to restore data from them during a ransomware attack.
  • Cloud backups have the best recovery rate of all architectures analyzed – with the likelihood of restoration 1.5X greater than the lowest performing configuration (offsite).
  • Companies who failed to restore their data were 3X more likely to pay a ransom than those who were able to successfully restore from backups.
  • Effective backups decreased the severity of a ransomware claim by 41%.

SAN FRANCISCO — October 17, 2023 — At-Bay, the InsurSec provider for the digital age, released new research today revealing the critical impact that data backups have on ransomware loss among US businesses. Published in the report, “Backup Breakdown: How Data Recovery Impacts the Outcome of Cyber Attacks”, one major finding reveals that of the 92% of At-Bay policyholders who invest in data backup solutions, less than two thirds (63%) successfully restore their data when they experience a ransomware attack, and more than one in four businesses (31%) see their backups fail. 

“There aren’t many security professionals who get excited about data backups and the different types of solutions that are available on the market,” said Rotem Iram, CEO and Co-Founder of At-Bay. “But it turns out, some backup solutions are far more effective than others – and if a business chooses right, the likelihood of them paying a ransom could go down by as much as 3X.” 

Against a backdrop of rising cybercrime rates, where according to data from The Record by Recorded Future, ransomware attacks reached a four year high in Q3 of 2023¹, this research report comes at a critical time for businesses. For the first time ever, At-Bay helps to identify the critical gaps that exist between the reliability of today’s backup solutions and their effectiveness at mitigating the financial risks associated with today’s costly ransomware attacks. 

Key findings: 

• Despite 92% of businesses reporting having backups, more than 1 in 4 businesses (31%) fail to restore data from them during a ransomware attack.
• When backup solutions work, businesses are nearly 3X less likely to pay a ransom. 
• Cloud backup architectures provide the best likelihood of successful data restoration, with a recovery rate of 80%. This is approximately 1.5X better than offsite (55%) and onsite solution archetypes (56%). Hybrid solutions showed a 67% recovery rate, however.
• Successfully restoring data from backups reduces the overall cost of an incident by 41%.
• The cost of a ransomware claim is on average $190,000 greater for businesses who fail to successfully restore their data from a backup, compared to those that do.

On a mission to empower businesses to embrace technology with confidence and bring clarity to cybersecurity decisions, At-Bay’s landmark InsurSec report series leverages insights from the company’s first-party data on cyber attacks and losses in order to help reveal the real-world relationship between product choices and corresponding financial risks for each major product category in software and software security. In February 2023, At-Bay released its first ranking of the risks associated with today’s most popular email security solutions, which found Google Workspace customers experience 40% fewer email security incidents compared to other email solutions in the category (e.g. Microsoft 365, Exchange). 

• Read At-Bay’s “Backups Breakdown: How Data Recovery Solutions Impacts the Outcome of Cyber Attacks” report.
• Read At-Bay’s “Ranking Email Security Solutions” report.