Ransomware and vulnerability exploitation in 2025 what small businesses must know

Ransomware remains the top system intrusion threat

Ransomware continues to dominate system intrusion breaches in the latest Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. The report highlights the strong link between system intrusion incidents and ransomware activity. Verizon

Unpatched software is a growing doorway

Exploitation of known vulnerabilities rose again as an initial access vector, reaching about one in five breaches in the 2025 snapshot for small and mid sized organizations. This confirms that timely patching and attack surface reduction are still the fastest wins. Verizon

What to do this quarter

1. Prioritize vulnerability remediation on internet facing systems first.

2. Require off site and offline backups with regular restore testing.

3. Use phishing resistant multifactor methods for admins and remote access.

4. Monitor for lateral movement and suspicious privilege escalation.These moves directly address the leading breach paths shown in the DBIR. Verizon

Outcome to aim for

Reduce mean time to patch high severity issues, enforce strong authentication, and rehearse recovery. Teams that execute these basics cut the largest sources of real world risk reflected in current breach data. Verizon+1