Ripple events don’t happen in isolation — and they’re not random.
The Ripples Across the Risk Surface 2025 report reveals that multi-party cyber incidents aren’t distributed evenly across the digital landscape.
While every organization is connected, some are far more likely to either generate a ripple event or be caught in its wake.
Understanding who sits on each side of that equation — and why — is critical to reducing systemic cyber risk across industries.
Larger firms are twice as likely to both generate and receive ripple events
One of the clearest findings from this year’s research is the outsized role of large enterprises in the ripple ecosystem.
After adjusting for the number of organizations by revenue band, the data shows that firms with $10 billion or more In annual revenue are twice as likely to both cause and experience ripple events compared to smaller firms.
That statistic might seem intuitive — large organizations have more partners, suppliers, and customers, so their digital footprint is broader. But it also reflects an important dynamic: interconnectivity scales risk.
The more touchpoints a firm has, the greater the chance that one vulnerability will cascade through its ecosystem.
Sector matters: who’s generating vs. receiving ripple effects
The 2025 report uncovers meaningful differences by industry sector.
On the generator side (the organizations where ripple events begin):
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Finance, Public, Information, Transportation, and Utilities sectors show the highest likelihood of generating ripple events.
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These industries often serve as critical hubs — hosting data, managing infrastructure, or enabling core services for others.
On the receiver side (the organizations most often impacted downstream):
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Healthcare, Education, and Finance stand out as the most common victims of ripple effects.
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These sectors rely heavily on third-party vendors and cloud services to store, process, or transmit sensitive information.
It’s a vivid picture of systemic risk: the same sectors that help power the global economy are also the ones most likely to both cause and suffer from cascading cyber impacts.
Ripple risk flows downstream
Perhaps the most revealing dynamic is how ripple events cascade across organizational tiers.
The data shows strong flows of ripple activity between mid-to-large firms ($1B–$10B revenue) and smaller suppliers, suggesting that even organizations with modest budgets can become collateral damage in an upstream partner’s breach.
In practical terms:
A single compromised vendor in a large enterprise’s supply chain can expose dozens of smaller firms to loss events. And because smaller firms often lack the resources or visibility to respond effectively, the ripple effects can continue spreading unchecked.
This finding underscores the importance of ecosystem awareness — knowing who your partners are, who their partners are, and what risks lie within those extended connections.
PER-FIRM LOSSES FOR SINGLE-PARTY INCIDENTS, RIPPLE EVENT GENERATORS, AND RECEIVERS
Different actors, different motives
Ripple events also differ in who’s behind them. Compared to single-party incidents, ripple events show higher involvement from nation-states, hacktivists, and organized crime groups — adversaries motivated not only by financial gain, but by disruption, espionage, or reputational damage.
That distinction matters. When a breach is driven by advanced actors with broad objectives, the likelihood of collateral damage to multiple connected firms increases dramatically. Ripple incidents aren’t simply accidents of connectivity — they’re often intentional, large-scale operations designed to exploit interdependence.
Managing the risk you can’t see
The reality is that no organization can completely isolate itself from ripple risk. But with clear visibility into vendor hygiene, firms can drastically reduce the probability of both causing and absorbing ripple impacts.
That’s the mission behind RiskRecon by Mastercard. By continuously monitoring and rating the cybersecurity performance of vendors, suppliers, and partners, RiskRecon enables organizations to:
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Identify which relationships pose the greatest third-party exposure.
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Benchmark vendor hygiene against industry peers.
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Focus resources on the areas of highest systemic risk.
Because when you know who your riskiest partners are, you can stop small issues from creating large ripple effects.
Proactive visibility builds collective resilience
The takeaway from this research is clear: ripple events are not isolated mishaps — they’re reflections of interconnected risk. Larger firms and critical sectors must lead by example, strengthening their own security postures and holding partners to equally high standards. At the same time, smaller vendors must elevate their cyber hygiene to protect both themselves and their upstream clients.
Collective resilience starts with shared visibility — and shared accountability.
Take the next step
Start your free trial of RiskRecon by Mastercard to instantly view the cyber risk ratings of up to 50 vendors in your supply chain, and Understand where ripple risks exist within your ecosystem.
