Email breach delays can multiply ransomware risk eight-fold

Email breaches affect almost all organizations. The new Email Security Breach Report 2025 reveals the worrying fact that 78% of organizations experienced an email breach in the last year. Only half of them detected the breach within an hour. Even fewer (41%) said they were able to respond to and mitigate an incident within an hour of its detection.

This matters because email-based attacks can be frighteningly fast. Research shows that the median time it takes an employee to fall for a phishing email is less than 60 seconds: 21 seconds to click on the link, and then 28 seconds to enter the requested data. Armed with the stolen credentials and access, the attackers' next steps can be equally quick. For example, not long ago, a cybergang took just 54 minutes to get from breaching a victim’s network to encrypting the first file with Akira ransomware.

Email-based attacks are often just the start of a larger incident. Stopping these early-stage attacks in their tracks is a security priority. The faster and more effective you are at detecting and neutralizing an email breach, the more resilient you are to unfolding cyberattacks, such as ransomware, data theft or extortion.

One of the most worrying survey findings is that organizations taking longer than nine hours to fix a known email security breach have a 79% chance of also being a victim of ransomware — one of the most damaging, disruptive and costly forms of cyberattack.

The direct impact of an email security breach can, in itself, be significant.

Email breaches harm operations and growth

The findings show that 41% of email breach victims suffered reputational damage. Many report that business operations were disrupted, productivity declined, and a significant proportion lost new business opportunities and customers, harming growth.

The cost of recovery

The recovery costs can also be considerable. According to the survey, the average cost of responding to and recovering from an email security breach in 2025 is $217,068. Smaller businesses are hit especially hard. Companies with 50 to 100 employees incur costs of on average $1,946 per person, while larger organizations with 1,000 to 2,000 staff see average costs of $243 per employee.

Barriers to cyber resilience

Faster and more effective incident response helps to contain and limit the damage. But there can be obstacles in the way.

The survey shows that the complexity of email threats, skills shortages and the lack of automated incident response make fast detection and recovery a challenge for many organizations. 47% say advanced evasion techniques are the main obstacle to rapid incident response, while 44% say the lack of automated incident response delays the detection, containment and removal of threats.

Integrated protection

Email security is no longer just about blocking spam or low-level phishing; it’s about preventing the first domino from falling in a cyberthreat chain that could end in operational paralysis, data loss, reputational damage, and longer-term business impacts.

With the right email security tools, support and education in place as part of a deep and integrated security platform, organizations have a better chance to defend themselves against increasingly complex attacks. 

The Email Security Breach Report 2025 is based on the findings of an international survey undertaken by Barracuda with Vanson Bourne, gathering insights from 2,000 IT and security decision-makers across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

For additional findings and insight, read the report.