OpenText released the findings of its fourth annual Global Ransomware Survey.
The survey of almost 1,800 security practitioners and business leaders highlighted a rising tension between confidence and risk: confidence in ransomware readiness is rising yet concern over AI-driven attacks and third-party vulnerabilities are growing just as fast.
Organizations believe they’re ready to bounce back from ransomware—but AI is rapidly changing the threat landscape. New attack methods, weak governance, and supply chain vulnerabilities are exposing critical gaps between preparation and performance, creating a higher-stakes environment for defenders and leaders alike. This is especially true for SMBs that have fewer formal AI policies.
“Organizations are right to be confident in their progress in security posture, but they can’t afford to be complacent,” said Muhi Majzoub, Executive Vice President, Security Products, OpenText. “AI fuels productivity while also heightening risk through insufficient governance and its expanding use in attacks. Managing information securely and intelligently is essential to building resilience in organizations of any size.”
Key survey findings include:
False Sense of Confidence Grows, as AI raises the Stakes
Organizations feel more prepared than ever to recover from ransomware attacks, but AI introduces a growing layer of complexity that’s causing unease. While internal GenAI use is rising, so are external AI-powered threats. Organizations are navigating a high-stake balancing act to enable innovation while managing risk.
- Ninety-five percent of respondents are confident in their ability to recover from a ransomware attack, but only 15% of those attacked fully recovered their data.
- Eighty-eight percent allow employees to use GenAI tools, yet less than half (48%) have a formal AI use policy.
- Enterprises lead AI governance (52%) compared to SMBs (43%) by having a formal AI policy in place.
- Fifty-two percent report increased phishing or ransomware due to AI; 44% have seen deepfake-style impersonation attempts.
- Top AI-related concerns among respondents include data leakage (29%), AI-enabled attacks (27%), and deepfakes (16%).
Read the full press release or download the full report.
