Paying a Ransomware Demand is No Guarantee

Paying a ransom is no guarantee you’ll get your data back.

Recent research by Rubrik shows that Australia is now one of the world’s most vulnerable ransomware targets. Worse, attackers are increasingly destroying or corrupting backup systems, meaning even organisations that pay often cannot recover quickly, if at all.

The most ransomware‑targeted nation

Rubrik Zero Labs’ research shows Australia recorded the highest proportion of ransomware attacks globally, with 35% of organisations hit in the past 12 months. 

One major driver of this surge: Australian organisations keep paying.  Rubrik’s research found that that the majority of Australian victims paid a ransom (second only to Singapore).

Rubrik’s analysts were blunt in their observations on their findings: paying ransoms fuels the criminal ecosystem and encourages repeat targeting.

Backup systems are being compromised too

Rubrik’s telemetry highlights a critical shift: attackers now target backup and recovery systems directly.  78% of Australian organisations said attackers partially compromised their backup systems.  35% said backups were completely compromised. 

This is why paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee recovery - the systems needed to restore data are often damaged.

Rubrik says the operational impact is severe:

• No Australian organisations said they recovered within an hour.

• 23% took more than 24 hours.

• 34% said they believed full recovery would take at least a week. 

  
  

Cloud and SaaS are widening the attack surface

Australian organisations are rapidly expanding their digital footprint.  98% use 2–5 cloud/SaaS platforms and most plan to increase cloud/SaaS usage.  

This leads to key challenges such as securing sensitive data across multiple environments, data/privacy compliance/privacy and other complications that arise from a lack of centralised management.

MFT helps prevent ransomware attacks

Modern Managed File Transfer (MFT) platforms provide a critical layer of defence against the exact weaknesses Rubrik identifies.

A robust MFT solution:

• Eliminates risky manual file handling, a common ransomware entry point.

• Encrypts all data in transit and at rest, preventing credential theft from exposing sensitive files.

• Centralises access control, reducing the identity sprawl attackers exploit.

• Provides tamper‑proof audit trails, making it harder for attackers to hide lateral movement.

• Automates file workflows, removing insecure ad‑hoc transfers that often bypass security policy.

  
  

In a landscape where attackers are compromising backups, stealing credentials, and exploiting

cloud complexity, MFT gives organisations a governed, hardened data‑movement layer - reducing exposure and strengthening resilience before an attack ever begins.

On Hand in Australia to Help

At Generic Systems Australia we have decades of experience helping local businesses keep cyber thieves at bay through deployment of the world’s best MFT, GoAnywhere. 

If you’d like a no-cost, no-obligation discussion about how we could help you, please feel welcome to get in touch with me.