The IR case data is augmented with telemetry from the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform and research from our threat intelligence team, digital forensics experts, incident responders, and professional ransomware negotiators. The vast majority of these IR engagements were initiated as part of cyber insurance policies, through our partnerships with insurance providers and privacy law practitioners. While cyber insurance is a valuable risk transfer option for any organization, it’s important to recognize that certain industries are more likely to have coverage than others, and that our sample cases will reflect this distribution.

The Arctic Wolf State of Cybersecurity: 2024 Trends Report took the temperature of organizations around the globe and sought to understand how they were responding to these areas of challenge. Our research revealed that ransomware continues to be a perennial area of concern. For the third year in a row, ransomware ranked as the top concern for respondents. This concern is not without merit when we consider that 45% of the organizations we spoke with admitted to being the victim of a ransomware attack within the last 12 months, a 3% increase over last year.

The 2023 Arctic Wolf State of Cybersecurity Trends Report took the temperature of organizations around the globe and sought to understand not only their current and future concerns, but how they were responding to the problems that had plagued them in previous years. Our research shows that, despite the enduring nature of many of these challenges, organizations are making measurable strides in areas where progress has proven limited in previous years.

This report focuses primarily on hundreds of digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) engagements conducted by the Arctic Wolf Incident Response team. The vast majority of these engagements were initiated as part of cyber insurance policies, through our partnerships with insurance providers and privacy law practitioners.

Arctic Wolf’s 2022 Security Trends Report provides insight into the current and future state of these cybersecurity teams as they attempt to move their security programs forward while dealing with an ever-evolving threat environment. Our research findings show that ransomware, phishing and vulnerabilities don’t just monopolize headlines, they’re taking up security professionals’ headspace, too. Defending an increasing number of threats from attackers with far more resources feels like a lost cause too many businesses.