A Decade of Ransomware Chaos – How Much It Costs

This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine

Sausalito, Calif. – Dec. 3, 2025

– Read the full story in IoT for all

IoT for all reports that over the past decade, ransomware has evolved from a small-scale threat targeting personal computers into a systemic risk affecting critical infrastructure, smart factories, and connected devices.

In 2015, the FBI received approximately 2,400 ransomware complaints, resulting in losses exceeding $24 million. That same year, broader estimates put ransomware damage at around $300 million. By 2017, the scale had expanded, and damage estimates had risen to $5 billion. Fast forward to 2021, ransomware damages to organizations were estimated at $20 billion, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, with attacks occurring roughly every 11 seconds.

Today, projections from Cybersecurity Ventures already warn of a sharp escalation: global ransomware damage could reach $57 billion in 2026, and by 2031, costs could soar beyond $275 billion annually. Meanwhile, in 2025, the average cost per attack is up by 17 percent.

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