As ransomware rapidly evolves, businesses can’t afford to be complacent.
But how can you stay protected when current software investments, monitoring tools, and cybersecurity training keep getting surpassed by the scale of the threat?
You invest in the strongest defence for your business – a data-first approach.
When you understand that the majority of cyberthreats are motivated by the desire to steal or extort your precious business data, that perspective drives impactful strategic change.
Here’s how that looks surrounding ransomware, and our predictions for the future of the threat landscape.
The growing problem of ransomware
Ransomware is malicious software that blocks access to systems or data, usually by encryption, and demands payment to restore it.
Newer strains don’t just lock data, they also steal it or threaten to leak it publicly, creating double or even triple extortion.
Recent figures show the sheer scale of ransomware’s impact.
- The global average ransom demand in 2025 hit around £1.15 million (US $1.52m).
- Around 68% of victims are attacked again within six months.
- In the UK, the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found that about 1% of businesses, roughly 19,000 organisations, reported a ransomware crime in the past year.
The impact of ransomware
The fallout of ransomware can be devastating, leading to operational disruption, data loss, reputational harm, and regulatory consequences.
With a data-first approach, businesses treat ransomware not just as a security issue but as a data management problem.
This is critical as knowing where data lives, who owns it, how it moves, and how fast it can be recovered can make the difference between a quick recovery and lasting damage.
Rio’s predictions for the future of ransomware
Based on the current threat landscape, four key ransomware trends are emerging:
- More intelligent attacks
Attackers are getting better at targeting organisations through personalised and automated campaigns.
Businesses without clear visibility of their data will find it harder to spot unusual activity in time.
- Data used for leverage
Attackers increasingly want to steal or expose data rather than just encrypt it.
Companies that classify and segment their data will be in a much stronger position to contain the impact.
- Faster, smaller scale attacks
Medium-sized and smaller firms will continue to be hit hardest, often with little warning.
Those who can recover critical data quickly will limit both downtime and cost.
- Tighter insurance and regulation
Insurers and regulators will expect organisations to prove they can manage and recover data effectively before providing cover or sign off.
How businesses should prepare, the data- first way
- Know your data
Start by mapping your data estate. Identify what’s critical, where it sits, and how it’s protected.
Understanding dependencies and priorities helps you recover the right data first when things go wrong.
- Design for resilience
Here’s where you go beyond traditional backups. Ensure you are using verified and secure data copies that can’t be tampered with. A data-first approach makes restoring operations after an incident faster and easier.
- Detect and act faster
With a data-first approach, businesses can use data insights to track patterns, spot anomalies, and detect ransomware activity early. When all your security and operational data connect into one view, you can act faster and with more confidence.
- Make it a business issue
Organisations need to treat ransomware as a core business risk, not just an IT one. This should inform how you integrate data protection and recovery into your wider governance, compliance, and resilience planning.
Work with a partner who understands data
An IT partner like Rio, who takes a data-first approach, can help support your cybersecurity journey.
This support will look like running ransomware risk assessments, build secure backup and recovery systems, design protection policies, and prepare teams for real world incidents.
With experience in both data engineering and software development, we make sure resilience is built into the way your business runs.
Data security, management, and accessibility should be at the core of every business’s cybersecurity strategy.
Adopting a data-first approach ensures this is the case, enabling you to better adapt to the evolving ransomware landscape.