A recent report by Rubrik reveals alarming trends in cyberattacks, with a staggering 90% of IT and security leaders reporting that their organizations faced a cyberattack in the past year. The persistence of ransomware attacks and a growing reliance on hybrid cloud environments highlight the urgent need for enhanced security measures, as many firms are left vulnerable due to misconceptions regarding their cloud service providers’ responsibility for data protection.
Joe Hladik, Head of Rubrik Zero Labs, noted that the continued exploitation of hybrid cloud vulnerabilities indicates that cybercriminals remain ahead of the game. The report emphasizes that organizations must adopt a proactive approach to safeguarding their most valuable data and prioritize a data-centric security strategy that emphasizes visibility and quick recovery mechanisms. “The need for a data-centric security strategy that prioritizes visibility, control, and quick recovery has never been more urgent,” Hladik stated.
The report also pointed out that nearly one-fifth of organizations faced over 25 cyberattacks in 2024 alone, averaging at least one breach every other week. The most prevalent attack vectors included data breaches (30%), malware on devices (29%), cloud or SaaS breaches (28%), phishing (28%), and insider threats (28%). The consequences of these attacks were significant, with 40% of respondents experiencing increased security costs and 37% noting reputational damage and lost customer trust.
Despite the inevitable shift towards cloud adoption, challenges such as understanding application dependencies and managing hybrid environments continue to hinder full implementation. Approximately 90% of IT and security leaders manage hybrid cloud setups, with half reporting that most of their workloads have transitioned to the cloud. However, a prevalent misconception persists: the belief that cloud providers will entirely safeguard their users’ data, which often leads to a false sense of security.
The report underscores the crisis in data recovery strategies, as 86% of organizations that experienced successful ransomware attacks last year reported paying a ransom to recover their data. Alarmingly, 74% of these organizations indicated that threat actors compromised their backup and recovery systems. With the increasing use of multiple cloud platforms—92% of organizations are utilizing two to five—it is evident that weak points in identity and access management are being exploited, exacerbating the ransomware threat.
Insider threats are also a growing concern, with 28% of IT leaders highlighting that compromised credentials often drive these incidents. Moreover, a significant portion of high-risk sensitive files contains valuable digital data such as API keys and usernames, which are particularly attractive targets for cybercriminals seeking to hijack identities and breach critical systems.
