--- title: "Ghost in the machine: When cyberattacks go undetected" description: The prospect of any breach is scary, but the thought of an attacker being inside your business for weeks or months is downright terrifying. Learn how to protect yourself. canonical_url: https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/ghost-in-the-machine-when-cyberattacks-go-undetected/ locale: en last_updated: 2026-10-27 --- [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) # Ghost in the machine: When cyberattacks go undetected The prospect of any data breach is scary, but the thought that an attacker could fundamentally take over an organization’s data for weeks or months is downright terrifying. Read on to learn how you can protect yourself from these cyberattacks. [Try Now](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/trial/) [![Image 2: Lee Pender](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/96b4b6d9ceee3c624b79f42543d1d633.png)](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/lee-pender/ "Lee Pender") [Lee Pender,](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/authors/lee-pender/)Senior Content Marketing Manager 5 min read Last updated 07 January 2025 Imagine someone rifling through your files right now, stealing your or your clients’ data, preparing to hold it for ransom or maybe just sell it on the dark web. Now think about this: It could be happening now, and you wouldn’t know it. Cyberattacks aren’t like old-fashioned bank robberies. There are no dramatic entrances, tense standoffs or noisy conflicts like in the movies. Today robbers do their work from some remote location and, more to the point, they do it quietly. So quietly, in fact, that cyberattacks routinely go on for weeks or months before organizations sniff them out. ![Image 3: Ghost in the machine: When cyberattacks go undetected](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/d24d6d10f954a4012b3ab04f95af97e5.png) ## Things that go bump in your servers IBM reports that the [average phishing attack lasts 261 days](https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/1KZ3XE9D) — and that’s just the average. How much damage could a cyber attacker do with nine months to invade your system and steal your data? A lot, as it turns out: IBM found that the average data breach has cost the victim $4.88 million in 2024, a 10% increase from 2023. The prospect of any data breach is scary, but the thought that an attacker could fundamentally take over an organization’s data for weeks or months is downright terrifying. Consider that cyberattackers [took only about a week to cripple Change Healthcare](https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/17/how-the-ransomware-attack-at-change-healthcare-went-down-a-timeline/#:~:text=It%20was%20later%20determined%20that%20the%20hackers%20initially%20broke%20into%20the%20company%E2%80%99s%20systems%20over%20a%20week%20earlier%2C%20on%20or%20around%20February%2012.) in one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history. Given months or years, attackers could completely devastate a business. ![Image 4: Ghost in the machine: When cyberattacks go undetected](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/14b976d445c4c48456ac41355b4502a9.png) ## The call is coming from inside the house: True tales of cyberattacks The list of massive data breaches is almost as long as it is legendary. The biggest of them all, an infamous [2013 Yahoo breach](https://cybersecurityventures.com/yahoo-still-ranks-as-the-largest-data-breach-in-history/) that compromised all of the company’s three billion accounts lasted for three years. Not months, years. Granted, that breach is an outlier, and it’s now more than a decade old. But even in 2024, breaches with surprisingly long durations have plagued some very recognizable victims. Consider these terrifying tales from this year alone: ### High-level Microsoft emails exposed for weeks In January 2024, Microsoft disclosed that a group of cyberattackers [had access to senior executives’ emails](https://www.crn.com/news/security/2024/microsoft-says-senior-executives-hacked-by-russian-group?itc=refresh#:~:text=In%20a%20post%20Friday%2C%20Microsoft%20said%20that%20the%20incident%20began%20with%20a%20late%20November%202023%20password%20spray%20attack%2C%20which%20compromised%20a%20%E2%80%9Clegacy%20non%2Dproduction%20test%20tenant%20account.%E2%80%9D) for at least six weeks. Six weeks seems like a short period of time when the average cyberattack lasts almost nine months, and it is. But imagine a cyberattacker having access to some of your or your clients’ most sensitive information for weeks. And then consider that Microsoft is a massive global corporation that actually develops its own security applications. In theory, Microsoft should be one of the safest operations in the world. And yet a group of attackers were able to read extremely sensitive executive and legal emails for more than a month. One of the world’s most secure companies took more than a month to spot a breach. How long would most small businesses need? ### Dell systems compromised for nearly three weeks Along the same lines as Microsoft, Dell is a technology company that should be among the most secure organizations in existence. But in May 2024, [cyberattackers penetrated Dell’s defenses](https://www.crn.com/news/security/2024/microsoft-says-senior-executives-hacked-by-russian-group?itc=refresh#:~:text=In%20a%20post%20Friday%2C%20Microsoft%20said%20that%20the%20incident%20began%20with%20a%20late%20November%202023%20password%20spray%20attack%2C%20which%20compromised%20a%20%E2%80%9Clegacy%20non%2Dproduction%20test%20tenant%20account.%E2%80%9D) and had access to the company’s systems for nearly three weeks. Again, a company full of technical experts couldn’t detect a breach for nearly a month. This time, the damage went far beyond executive emails. The attackers stole and reportedly sold information from 49 million records related to systems customers bought from Dell between 2017 and 2024. The point here isn’t that Dell or Microsoft is poor or derelict in [protecting data](https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/8-tips-for-protecting-against-a-ransomware-attack/). Both are extremely reputable companies with armies of high-level security professionals. The point is that if an attacker can steal records from Dell for weeks, breaching a small business for months will be relatively easy. ### Attackers steal MITRE data for months This might be the most shocking example of all. MITRE, a nonprofit company that conducts research and development and even has an extremely reputable cybersecurity knowledge base, said in April 2024 that attackers had [breached one of its research and prototyping networks](https://medium.com/mitre-engenuity/advanced-cyber-threats-impact-even-the-most-prepared-56444e980dc8). And how long were attackers able to access MITRE’s network before being detected? About three months. The attack began in January, and MITRE didn’t disclose it until April. The company acknowledged that the cyberattack endured despite MITRE employing best practices. A company that routinely works with a high-level security clearance still managed to fall victim to an attack that lasted for months. ![Image 5: Ghost in the machine: When cyberattacks go undetected](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/3dfabdf56d5045ae248eccea6231dc27.png) ## Detection and response provide safety from danger For small businesses, the danger of having an attacker access data for days, weeks or months is very real. It could be happening right now. Yes, it’s scary, but you and your clients aren’t defenseless. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR) can keep the monsters out of your critical data. [Acronis Cyber Platform (formerly Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud) with Advanced Security + XDR](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cloud/cyber-protect/extended-detection-and-response/) enables MSPs and their clients to monitor their systems so that cyberattackers can’t lurk unnoticed. With XDR, MSPs can offer clients rapid prevention, detection, analysis, response to, and recovery from cyberattacks. XDR can prevent intrusion, and it can also detect and mitigate them before attackers have a chance to do any real damage. For businesses, [Acronis Cyber Protect with EDR](https://www.acronis.com/en/products/cyber-protect/security/) continuously monitors, detects and enables response to activity that it doesn’t recognize as normal. It also collects security information from endpoints and system logs to perform anomaly detection and drive informed responses across affected endpoints. [Cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cybersecurity/) [Cyber protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection/) [Cyberthreats](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyberthreats/) [MSP cybersecurity](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/msp-cybersecurity/) [Data protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/data-protection/) [Cyber protection for businesses](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/tags/cyber-protection-for-business/) ## Written by ![Image 6: Lee Pender](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/content/96b4b6d9ceee3c624b79f42543d1d633.png) Lee Pender Senior Content Marketing Manager Lee was a journalist in the technology industry for 15 years, writing for and managing publications that served both IT and partner audiences. His experience as a corporate content creator includes tenures with an MSP and a provider of tax-compliance services. He writes about a variety of topics for Acronis, including cybersecurity trends, MSP management, emerging technologies and product updates. [Previous post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/security-patching-complete-guide/) [What is security patching and why it is important for business sucess](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/security-patching-complete-guide/) [Next post](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-awards-outstanding-partners-at-acronis-partner-day/) [Acronis awards outstanding partners at Acronis Partner Day](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-awards-outstanding-partners-at-acronis-partner-day/) About Acronis Acronis is a leader in AI-native cyber protection, unifying data protection, cybersecurity, IT operations and hybrid infrastructure to deliver business continuity, security and compliance with less cost and complexity. More than 21,000 service providers trust Acronis to protect over 750,000 businesses in 150 countries. Acronis is headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=acronis.com) ## Related stories Want to learn more? Read the latest stories featuring this solution on our blog. [Acronis Blog](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/) ![Image 7: stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/9600f3eea83b8f4e168ea6c1409c8c26.png) [stc Bahrain and Acronis partner to bring advanced endpoint security to businesses in Bahrain](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/stc-bahrain-and-acronis-partner-to-bring-endpoint-security-to-businesses/) We are proud to announce a strategic partnership with stc Bahrain, expanding access to advanced cybersecurity services for businesses across Bahrain. **October 26, 2026**3 min read ![Image 8: Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/18e90e89f5ec4ef0901f19008d4ccbf2.png) [Acronis expands MDR toward broader workspace protection](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-expands-mdr-toward-broader-workspace-protection/) Acronis is expanding the MDR service with capabilities that make this expertise easier to deliver and help partners address more risks. The developments build on a broader commitment to managed security: helping service providers protect the connected workspace while giving customers access to the expertise needed to investigate threats, respond effectively and maintain business continuity. **October 13, 2026**6 min read ![Image 9: Acronis Cyber Protect v17: Improving cyber resilience across people, data and infrastructure](https://staticfiles.acronis.com/images/blog-card/c2467c28c0278609eb3560cb2a8a4d53.png) [Acronis Cyber Protect v17: Improving cyber resilience across people, data and infrastructure](https://www.acronis.com/en/blog/posts/acronis-cyber-protect-v17-improving-cyber-resilience-across-people-data-and-infrastructure/) Acronis Cyber Protect v17 Q3 2026 expands integrated cyber protection with new capabilities that strengthen security awareness, improve backup operations and extend protection across more virtual environments. The result is stronger cyber resilience, simplified operations and broader protection delivered through a single platform. **October 05, 2026**4 min read