In a sobering recent report, insurer Hiscox revealed that 80% of companies hit by ransomware in the past year paid the ransom, yet only 60% fully recovered their data. (news.sky.com) Even worse, nearly a third of those firms faced further extortion attempts after paying.
This should be a wake-up call for every business leader. Paying cybercriminals is not a strategy. It is a costly, uncertain gamble that often funds future attacks. The truth is that recovery after a ransomware event is rarely complete, even for those who comply with demands.
So, why do so many still rely on a "detect and respond" approach? Because it’s what the industry has taught for years. But that approach is outdated and increasingly ineffective in today’s fast-moving threat landscape. It’s time for a smarter shift — from detect and respond to isolation and containment.
The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, cited by Sky News, surveyed nearly 5,750 small and medium-sized businesses. Among them, 27% reported experiencing a ransomware attack, and 80% paid the ransom. Yet only 60% regained full access to their data.
These statistics make one thing clear: paying ransom is not a reliable solution. In fact, it can make businesses more vulnerable. Once attackers know a company will pay, they often return or share that information with other threat groups.
Even more concerning, cybercriminals are now focusing on sensitive business assets like contracts, financial records, and executive communications — data that can cause maximum disruption and reputational harm. Paying up doesn’t erase the exposure or guarantee data integrity.
The traditional cybersecurity model focuses on detection and response — find the breach, contain it, remediate, and recover. But this approach depends on identifying malicious behavior after it has already started.
That’s a dangerous delay. Here’s why:
Attackers move fast. Once inside, many ransomware variants can spread across a network in minutes. By the time detection tools flag the activity, the damage is done.
Zero-day and AI-driven attacks evade detection. Advanced threats don’t always behave in recognizable ways, meaning they can bypass detection tools entirely.
Incident response is costly and incomplete. Even with the best responders, recovery can take weeks and cost millions.
Human error adds risk. Overloaded security teams miss alerts or respond too late.
The result? Businesses end up in the same place as the 80% who paid ransom — reacting instead of preventing.
To break this cycle, organizations need to prevent ransomware from executing or spreading in the first place. That’s where isolation and containment come in.
Isolation and containment technologies stop threats from moving or escalating, even if they manage to enter the system. Instead of relying on detection or signatures, they block malicious activity from running altogether.
This is the foundation of AppGuard, a proven endpoint protection solution with a 10-year track record of success. AppGuard doesn’t wait for alerts or signatures. It enforces trusted process behavior and prevents unauthorized activity at the kernel level, keeping systems safe even against zero-day and fileless attacks.
Key advantages of AppGuard include:
Automatic containment of suspicious applications before they can cause harm.
No dependency on constant updates or threat feeds.
Minimal false positives and low administrative burden.
Stops ransomware and malware before encryption or exfiltration begins.
AppGuard has been field-tested for over a decade in defense, government, and enterprise environments — and is now available for commercial use through CHIPS.
Assess your current approach. Review how much of your cybersecurity budget and time is devoted to detection and response.
Identify your critical systems. These are your highest-value assets and your best starting points for isolation-based protection.
Deploy AppGuard. Begin with a pilot phase to observe containment in real time, then expand deployment across your endpoints.
Train your teams. Help your IT and security staff understand the difference between reactive detection and proactive containment.
Measure results. Monitor reduced incident rates, fewer ransomware alerts, and lower response costs.
This transformation allows businesses to prevent breaches rather than chase them.
The findings reported by Sky News and Hiscox highlight a painful truth: most ransomware victims still rely on outdated defenses. Paying ransom should never be part of a security plan. It’s time for business leaders to take control before the next breach.
The answer isn’t better detection. It’s better prevention. The future of cybersecurity lies in isolation and containment — not endless response cycles.
That’s exactly what AppGuard delivers.
The Hiscox report shows that 80% of ransomware victims still pay, yet 40% never recover fully. It’s time to end that cycle.
Talk with us at CHIPS about how AppGuard can stop ransomware before it starts. Learn how to move from a reactive detect and respond posture to a proactive isolation and containment strategy that keeps your business running, even in the face of evolving threats.
Don’t wait for the next ransom demand. Prevent it.
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