Just 17% of UK organisations paid the ransom following a ransomware attack.

75% of UK business leaders who believe ransomware payments should be banned admit they would still pay a ransom if it were the only way to save their organisation, even if a ban was extended to the private sector and civil or criminal penalties applied.

Yearly data from 2024 shows that while ransomware attacks and the number of active gangs have grown, ransom payments saw a significant drop

Healthcare reported the lowest median ransom payment at $150,000.

Nearly 50% of companies paid a ransom to recover their data, which is the second highest rate of ransom payment for demands in six years.

The median ransom payment was $1 million.

Companies with over $1 billion in revenue faced a median ransom demand of $5 million.

The median ransom demand decreased by a third between 2024 and 2025.

53% of companies that paid the ransom successfully negotiated a lower amount than the initial demand.

The median ransom payment dropped by 50% from $2 million in 2024 to $1 million in 2025.

In 71% of cases where companies paid a smaller ransom than the initial demand, negotiation played a role, either directly or with third-party assistance.

State and local government reported the highest median ransom payment at $2.5 million.

Organisations with $250 million revenue or less saw median ransom demands of less than $350,000.

Average ransom per attack on state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments reached $872,656 between 2018 and December 2024, with total costs exceeding $1.09 billion.

Ransom payment values declined by 35%.

The Black Basta variant had the highest average ransom demand at $4 million.

The average ransom demand in 2024 was $1.1 million.

44% of cyber insurance policyholders that experienced a ransomware incident opted to pay the ransom when deemed reasonable and necessary.

Ransom demands from threat actors decreased by 22% year-over-year (YoY) in 2024.

The average ransom demand in the latter half of 2024 fell below $1 million for the first time in more than two years.