The report underscores the ongoing ransomware threat and reveals that 71% of repeat Indian victims blame too many security tools, while 57% cite poor integration, creating visibility gaps and blind spots exploited by attackers
A new study by Barracuda Networks has revealed that Indian organizations continue to be prime targets for ransomware attacks, with 34% of affected businesses reporting multiple incidents within the past year. The findings are part of Barracuda’s Ransomware Insights Report 2025, conducted in collaboration with research firm Vanson Bourne, which surveyed 2,000 IT and security leaders across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The report highlights the persistent threat of ransomware and the mounting challenges businesses face due to fragmented security systems. Among Indian respondents, 71% of repeat victims attributed their vulnerability to managing too many security tools, while 57% reported poor integration among these tools—resulting in reduced visibility and exploitable blind spots for attackers.
Globally, 57% of organizations surveyed said they were impacted by ransomware, with the banking (70%), healthcare (67%), and local government (65%) sectors being the most affected. In India, the impact is even more severe, with 69% of organizations acknowledging they had been hit by ransomware.
The study also sheds light on the troubling trend of ransom payments. About 32% of global victims admitted to paying attackers to regain access to their data, a figure that increases to 37% among organizations hit more than once. However, paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee full data recovery—41% of those who paid failed to retrieve all their data, often due to faulty decryption tools or incomplete recovery keys.
The research underscores the lack of basic security infrastructure among victims. Only 47% of those hit by ransomware had an email security solution in place—compared to 59% of those who remained unaffected—even though 71% of email-breached organizations also fell victim to ransomware.
Ransomware attacks in India are increasingly multifaceted, with attackers not only encrypting data (23%) but also stealing (24%) and publishing it (19%), deploying additional malicious payloads (36%), and installing backdoors (23%).
The consequences are far-reaching. Indian businesses reported damage to brand reputation (47%), high recovery costs (38%), customer loss (17%), missed opportunities (22%), and declines in employee productivity (40%), emphasizing the urgent need for integrated, proactive cybersecurity strategies.
“The findings make it clear that ransomware is an escalating threat, and fragmented security defenses leave organizations immensely vulnerable,” said Parag Khurana, country manager for India at Barracuda. “In India, 46% of companies have experienced downtime and business disruption due to such attacks. Many of these companies are relying on a patchwork of disconnected tools, often introduced with good intentions, that fail to integrate or are misconfigured, creating serious vulnerabilities. Attackers exploit these gaps to move through networks undetected, accessing devices and data with ease. A unified, integrated security platform is essential to close these gaps and prevent breaches.”
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
