Sophos, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, has unveiled its sixth annual State of Ransomware report, revealing that half of Singaporean companies have opted to pay ransoms to regain access to their data. This figure, although lower than the 63% recorded in 2024, highlights the ongoing struggle businesses face against ransomware attacks.
The report, based on a survey of IT and cybersecurity leaders across 17 countries, shows that whilst 50% of Singaporean companies paid the ransom, only 53% managed to fully recover within a week. This marks a significant decline from the 77% recovery rate seen in 2024. Additionally, 22% of companies took between one to six months to recover, up from 14% the previous year.
Data encryption remains a critical issue, with 53% of ransomware attacks in Singapore resulting in encrypted data, slightly above the global average of 50%. Despite this, all affected organisations managed to recover their data, either by paying the ransom or using backups. However, the use of backups has decreased, with only 46% of companies relying on them, down from 58% in 2024.
On a positive note, the report highlights a decline in both ransom payments and recovery costs. The median ransom payment in Singapore has dropped from $760,000 in 2024 to $365,565 in 2025. Similarly, the average cost of recovery, excluding ransom payments, has decreased from $2.20 million to $1.54 million.
The findings underscore the need for improved cybersecurity measures and negotiation strategies, as Singaporean companies paid a median 94% of the ransom demand, higher than the global average of 85%. As ransomware threats continue to evolve, businesses must enhance their preparedness to mitigate the impact of such attacks.
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