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   The end of ransomware? Report claims the number of firms paying up is   
   plummeting   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 28 Oct 2025 17:26:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Research shows poor performance in terms of payments across the board.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The number of companies paying ransomware attackers for decryption keys and   
   delete stolen files has plummeted, and now represents just 23% of all    
   victims, new research has claims.    
      
   In its report, Coveware said ransom payment rates across all impact scenarios   
   - encryption, data exfiltration, and other extortion - fell to a historical   
   low of 23% in Q3 2025.     
      
   This continuation of the long-term downward trend is something all industry   
   participants should take a moment to reflect on: that cyber extortions    
   overall success rate is contracting," the company said.   
      
   Data-only attacks performing poorly, too   
      
   This is not the only metric thats significantly down. Average ransom payment   
   is now $376,941, representing a two-third decrease (66%) compared to Q2 2025.   
   Median ransom payment is now $140,000, which is also down 65% compared to the   
   second quarter of the year.    
      
   Originally, the idea of ransomware was to simply encrypt the files and then   
   ask for money in exchange for the decryption key. However, when businesses   
   started setting up backups , hackers started stealing files and threatening    
   to release them on the internet - a tactic now commonly known as double   
   extortion.    
      
   In the meantime, building and maintaining ransomware variants became   
   expensive, forcing many ransomware actors to abandon the encryption part   
   altogether and focus exclusively on data exfiltration. ShinyHunters is a   
   shining example (pun very much intended).    
      
   But Coveware says even this tactic isnt fruitful, as for data   
   exfiltration-only incidents, ransom payments fell to 19% in Q3 2025, which is   
   another record low.    
      
   While this resolution rate tends to bounce around, Q3 was a very active   
   quarter for data exfiltration attacks, the researchers stressed.    
      
   Cyber defenders, law enforcement, and legal specialists should view this as   
   validation of collective progress, Coveware says. The work that gets put in    
   to prevent attacks, minimize the impact of attacks, and successfully navigate   
   a cyber extortion  each avoided payment constricts cyber attackers of oxygen.    
      
    Via BleepingComputer    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-end-of-ransomware-report-claims-the   
   -number-of-firms-paying-up-is-plummeting   
      
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