Key Takeaways
- A recent cybersecurity report has found that ransomware payment rates have hit a historic low.
- This reflects wider trends happening to both larger enterprises and smaller firms.
- While the report shows that businesses may be better at dealing with cybersecurity threats, they should avoid becoming complacent in this area.
According to a recent cybersecurity report, ransomware payment rates hit a historic low across several areas in Q3 2025.
This correlates closely with current industry trends, as larger firms increasingly resist the pressure to pay ransoms, and smaller firms face decreasing overall ransomware payment rates.
The report’s findings also suggest that businesses are becoming better equipped to deal with cybersecurity threats, but firms should still exercise vigilance, especially as new threats like AI develop.
Ransomware Payments Hit a Historic Low in Q3 2025
A report from Coveware has found that both the average ransom payment and the median ransom payment is down significantly from Q2 to Q3 2025, with the former down 66% and the latter down 65%.
Likewise, ransom payment rates across all impact scenarios, including encryption, data exfiltration, and other extortion, fell to a historic low of 23%.
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Ultimately, the report concluded that the overall success rate of cyber extortion is decreasing, based on a few factors.
Lower Ransom Payments Hint to Wider Industry Trends
The report identified two wider trends these numbers reflect.
On the one hand, larger businesses are getting better at resisting the pressure to pay ransoms and are beginning to understand that paying for stolen data holds no benefit to them in the long run. Instead, approaching negotiations with a no-payment offer is becoming more advisable.
Secondly, attacks on smaller firms are seeing relatively lesser amounts offered as ransom payments. While small businesses do remain easier to disrupt overall, attackers are asking for less money in return.
Cybersecurity Measures Are Making Progress
The historic low for both average ransomware payments and median ransomware payments comes after a long-term downward trend, suggesting that payments are generally decreasing.
While businesses should always remain vigilant and focus on keeping their data as secure as possible — particularly in the age of AI and data breaches — the report can be seen as a positive one, that perhaps progress is being made.
It appears that firms are getting better at understanding what needs to be done in order to stay protected. That being said, businesses should still keep one eye on the future and never get to a point of complacency.
