Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, recently published a new sectoral survey report, "The State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production," which found that the sector had the highest average ransom payment across all sectors: $2,036,189 versus $812,360, respectively.

In addition, 66% of manufacturing and production organisations surveyed reported an increase in the complexity of cyber attacks, and 61% reported an increase in the volume of cyber attacks when compared to the previous year's survey. The increase in complexity and volume is also 7% and 4% higher than the cross-sector average, respectively. 

While manufacturing and production had the highest average ransom payment, the percentage of organisations that paid the ransom was among the lowest across sectors (33% versus 46% for the cross-sector average). 

Some additional findings include:

· The manufacturing and production sector had the lowest attack rate, tied with financial services, with only 55% of organisations surveyed targeted by ransomware

· However, the percentage of manufacturing and production organisations hit by ransomware increased by 52% over the previous year's report (up from 36% in the 2021 survey report)

· The sector also had the lowest encryption rate (57% versus 65% for the cross-sector average)

· Only 75% of those surveyed reported having cyber insurance—the lowest percentage across all sectors.