Ransomware payments have dropped to their lowest level on record, according to new data from Coveware, featured in Bleeping Computer and summarized in Voices for Innovation‘s latest Executive Briefing. The report shows that only 23% of ransomware victims paid in Q3 2025. It represents a meaningful milestone in the fight against cyber extortion and reflects continued progress in organizational preparedness and resilience.

Driving Shared Awareness & Policy Progress

Voices for Innovation (VFI), a Microsoft-supported community of technology leaders and advocates, continues to advance responsible innovation and digital trust. Queue Associates’ Global Managing Director, Jeffrey Goldstein, a longtime supporter and former VFI Advisory Task Force member, remains actively engaged in discussions shaping cybersecurity strategy, regulation, and public-private collaboration.

A Changing Threat Landscape

While fewer organizations are paying ransoms, this does not mean the threat is diminishing. Instead, attackers are evolving. The latest research highlights several key trends:

• Increased targeting of mid-market organizations, especially those with partial backup or business continuity capabilities.
• Growing attempts to bribe or manipulate employees for insider access.
• Greater emphasis on data theft and extortion, even when operational recovery is possible.

Resilience is improving, but adversaries are shifting to exploit new weaknesses.

Strengthening Cyber Resilience: Key Next Steps

Organizations should continue to mature their preparedness strategies by focusing on:

• Routine testing of backup and recovery procedures to ensure continuity.
• Expanding employee training to include insider-risk awareness and response.
• Updating incident response playbooks to reflect changing ransomware tactics.
• Reviewing cyber insurance coverage to understand gaps, obligations, and response protocols.

As AI adoption, cloud modernization, and data-driven operations accelerate, proactive cybersecurity becomes essential for maintaining trust and long-term business viability.

Queue Associates’ Ongoing Commitment

Queue Associates supports Microsoft’s broader commitment to a secure and trusted digital ecosystem. Through active participation across the Microsoft partner community, including VFI, Queue helps advance dialogue and action around cybersecurity standards, responsible AI, data governance, and resilient cloud strategies. The shared mission: ensuring that innovation and security advance together.

Source: Coveware data via Bleeping Computer, featured in Voices for Innovation’s Executive Briefing.