- New research claims downtime from ransomware attacks is costing government agencies thousands
- The average downtime after an attack is over 27 days
- RansomHub is the top offender
New research from Comparitech has outlined that a key underestimated aspect of ransomware is costing Government agencies thousands of dollars per day – downtime.
Of the over 1,000 confirmed ransomware attacks tracked, nearly a month’s worth of downtime was lost per attack on average, costing nearly $84,000 per day.
For government agencies, the average downtime is higher than other sectors, with healthcare averaging 16 days, and 12 days for manufacturers. Although fewer than half of all ransomware incidents end in payment, the total amount paid in previous years has hit over $1 billion, so attacks can be seriously expensive all-round.
Key targets
The research points to government entities being less equipped to overcome attacks, most likely from budget constraints leading to longer recovery times.
On average, attackers demanded $2.2 million in ransom, but it’s very rarely confirmed whether a ransom is paid or not – and some governments like the UK have launched proposals which would effectively ban state run organizations from paying ransoms in order to dissuade groups from targeting them.
But this doesn’t stop attackers, with government agencies frequently topping the list of most popular targets.
Critical infrastructure organizations are increasingly at risk of geopolitically motivated attacks, looking to disrupt service providers and undermine trust in public institutions.
The report outlines that notorious group RansomHub is responsible for stealing the most data, with over 730,000 records taken since 2018. Close behind them is ALPHV with 700,000, and Brain Cipher with 650,000 records stolen.
Although it’s a fairly new group, RansomHub continues to find success in attacking both public and private organizations, with the group claiming to have made a victim of MetLife earlier in 2025.
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