Ransomware attacks are becoming a significant threat to critical infrastructure, with financial impacts soaring up to $1 million per incident. A survey conducted by Claroty, which involved 1,100 security professionals in sectors such as chemical manufacturing, healthcare, and energy, revealed that 45% of organizations suffered financial losses exceeding $500,000 due to cyberattacks in the past year. Shockingly, 27% reported losses over $1 million.
The healthcare sector, in particular, has been severely affected, with 78% of respondents admitting to paying ransoms exceeding $500,000 to recover encrypted data. Beyond financial losses, companies reported significant operational downtime, with recovery efforts lasting 12 hours to over a week, impacting productivity and service delivery.
These cyberattacks often originate from third-party suppliers with access to critical systems, exposing vulnerabilities that are hard to control. As more organizations rely on remote access to manage their cyber-physical systems (CPS), the risks of attacks are growing. Nearly 45% of surveyed organizations had CPS assets connected to the internet, making them more vulnerable.
To combat these rising threats, organizations are strengthening their cybersecurity measures. Key steps include:
- Implementing asset inventory and visibility tools
- Performing risk assessments across all environments
- Securing third-party access to critical systems
- Improving network security through segmentation
- Deploying threat detection capabilities
With ransomware attacks continuing to evolve, organizations must prioritize robust cybersecurity programs to protect their infrastructure and minimize the growing financial and operational impact.