Ransomware Readiness Score
Composite assessment of an organization's ability to prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from a ransomware attack
Industry Benchmark
71%
+15.6% from previous period
Industry average: 63%
Calculation Method
Weighted score across six control domains: backup integrity (25%), endpoint protection (20%), network segmentation (20%), incident response readiness (20%), employee awareness (10%), and patch currency (5%)
Significance
Ransomware remains the most financially damaging threat in 2026. Average ransom payment exceeded $2.73M in 2025 (Sophos). A quantified readiness score lets CISOs prioritize defenses with measurable impact.
What is Ransomware Readiness?
Ransomware Readiness is a holistic measure of how prepared an organization is across the full ransomware attack lifecycle — pre-compromise hardening, detection during dwell time, containment after activation, and recovery without paying ransom. It combines technical controls with process maturity and human factors.
Six readiness domains
- Backup integrity (25%) — Immutable, tested backups meeting 3-2-1-1-0 standard
- Endpoint protection (20%) — EDR coverage, behavioral detection, exploit prevention
- Network segmentation (20%) — Lateral movement barriers, SMB restrictions, east-west controls
- IR readiness (20%) — Tested playbook, defined RTO/RPO, insurance documentation
- Awareness (10%) — Phishing resistance, ransomware scenario training
- Patch currency (5%) — Known exploited vulnerability (KEV) remediation rate
Why it matters in 2026
Financial exposure: Average total cost of a ransomware attack (including downtime, recovery, reputational impact) reached $4.91M in 2025 (IBM Cost of a Data Breach).
Insurance underwriting: Cyber insurers now require documented ransomware readiness assessments. Policies may be voided without evidence of tested backups and IR plans.
Recovery without paying: Organizations with readiness scores above 75% are 3x more likely to recover without paying ransom (CISA 2025 Ransomware Guide).
Score interpretation
- 0–49%: High vulnerability — likely to pay ransom or suffer extended outage
- 50–69%: Moderate readiness — significant gaps in backup or segmentation
- 70–84%: Good readiness — can likely recover; focus on IR speed
- 85–100%: Excellent — tested recovery, minimal dwell time