The Internet Resilience Report 2025: 1 in 8 Businesses Now Lose Over $10M a Month to Disruptions and Over Half Lose $1M+
Download the 2025 Internet Resilience Report: https://www.catchpoint.com/learn/the-internet-resilience-report-2025
Now in its second edition, the Internet Resilience Report 2025 continues to serve as an essential resource, providing authentic insights into the evolving importance of Internet performance. The 2025 findings underscore that ensuring fast digital experiences has become just as crucial as uptime—highlighting why digital performance must be a strategic priority at the highest organizational levels.
Key findings from the report include:
Financial impact intensifies: 51% report monthly losses of over $1 million due to Internet outages or degradations, up from 43% in 2024. And 1 in 8 now lose over $10 million each month, a noticeable rise since last year.
AI-driven incidents have immediate impacts: 57% of organizations immediately notice when AI supporting critical applications fails or slows, emphasizing the need for robust AI observability, while a worrying 43% rely on alerts, complaints, or delayed discovery.
Slow apps are dead apps: 73% say fast, high-performing websites are critical to business success; 42% claim slow services might as well be offline.
Third-party dependencies heighten risks: 74% of respondents identify third-party services as highly critical to their resilience strategy, highlighting the importance of comprehensive external monitoring.
Best-of-breed tools dominate: 73% prefer specialized Internet Performance Monitoring tools for safeguarding digital experiences, rather than broad, less targeted tools.
Additional key insights include:
Defining clear experience standards (XLOs): Despite the AI investment buzz (63%), the report advises prioritizing customer-centric Service Level Objectives (SLOs)—or Experience-Level Objectives (XLOs)—to anchor resilience efforts effectively.
Resilience ownership remains unclear: 72% identify CIO/CTOs as ultimately responsible for resilience, yet only 44% directly assign this responsibility to IT operations or Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), indicating significant room for improved organizational alignment.
Closing critical visibility gaps: 73% utilize IPM specifically to monitor third-party dependencies—services not adequately tracked by traditional APM tools—highlighting critical blind spots that can compromise resilience.
"If the Internet was already teetering on a fragile edge when we launched our inaugural Internet Resilience Report in June 2024, it's even more so now," said Mehdi Daoudi, CEO and co-founder of Catchpoint. "The industry is waking up to a new reality: slow is the new down. Sluggish websites and applications don't just frustrate users—they drain revenue and damage reputations."
Methodology
The 2025 Internet Resilience Report is based on responses from 475 digital leaders collected between February and March 2025. Participants spanned North America (65%), Europe (26%), and other regions, representing diverse industries, including tech platforms, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare. This diversity ensures that the report captures a broad and comprehensive perspective on the state Internet Resilience worldwide.
Download the 2025 Internet Resilience Report: https://www.catchpoint.com/learn/the-internet-resilience-report-2025
About Catchpoint
In today's exacting digital age, performance is paramount. The top online retailers, Global2000, CDNs, cloud service providers, and xSPs all rely on Catchpoint to ensure high performance and digital resilience by catching issues across the Internet Stack before they impact their customers, workforce or digital experiences. Catchpoint's Internet Performance Monitoring (IPM) suite offers Internet Synthetics, RUM, BGP, Tracing, performance optimization, high-fidelity data, and flexible visualizations with advanced analytics derived from the world's largest, most detailed, active observability network.
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Private Internet Access's obvious quality is impeccable device support, which, sadly, only excludes the Firestick. On the brighter side, you'll get other commodities like dedicated IP addresses, Smart DNS, and even antivirus at just $1/mo. PIA's prices are remarkably modest, and at just over $2 a month for the 2-year plan, it isn't easy to find a more impressive Private Internet Access Pros Cons Or is it? We have Surfshark as a strong contender for the best VPN for routers. This provider has all you need, including simultaneous connections, top-tier WireGuard implementation, and a no-logging policy audited by Deloitte and Cure53. When it comes to router support, Surfshark has an extensive list. It includes OPNsense, Tomato, Keenetic, Asus Merlin, Freebox, pfSense, Synology NAS, QNAP, MikroTik, and many others. Most of these models rely on OpenVPN, but WireGuard is also a viable option. 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That said, you don't have to spend a mini-fortune on the best VPN for routers in Surfshark Pros Cons CyberGhost boasts over 12,000 servers in 100 countries worldwide. It's a well-equipped VPN for routers, supporting Tomato, Raspberry Pi, Synology NAS, and many more. On its site, you'll find a heap of router VPN setup guides, so everything is simple. We also appreciate that you can visit Flashrouters and find routers with CyberGhost pre-installed. Once you have one, you need to connect your devices to it (with a valid CyberGhost subscription) and enjoy all the security and privacy it provides. Even if you opt for the manual setup, CyberGhost will provide you with the necessary configuration files, which can be easily implemented afterward. CyberGhost's WireGuard support is welcome because it works with specific router models, allowing you to experience it in the best light. In our test of CyberGhost, we praised it for its streaming and P2P capabilities. This will be particularly prevalent in this case, especially if you use multiple devices to go online. CyberGhost can also protect your IPv6 address against leaks, a feature some of its rivals lack. Additionally, as one of the top VPNs for routers, it excels in privacy and security. It doesn't keep any traffic logs, which Deloitte confirmed in a recent audit. The provider offers optional extras, including dedicated IP addresses and Smart DNS, which is compatible with all devices. CyberGhost lacks obfuscated connections, so it's a poor choice in China. This is countered by a relatively affordable price for its 2-year plan, which includes a few free months. The service costs a small amount above $2 monthly and offers a substantial 45-day money-back guarantee. Excellent stuff!Visit CyberGhost Let's face it. Most people need a VPN for their iPhone, Windows computer, or any other 'typical' device. Very few users will bother to install a VPN on a router. Well, those who do will need to take into account a few important factors, such as: The best VPN for routers can't be the one that doesn't support them. You want a provider that supports as many models as possible to ensure yours is on the list. We selected NordVPN and ExpressVPN as the two leading providers because of this criterion. These two work on a variety of routers, and in addition, offer the option of buying a router with a preinstalled VPN. This might cost a tad more at first, but you'll rid yourself of the manual setup, which, if you're inexperienced, you might not know how to perform. In addition to sheer compatibility, it's also beneficial to consider protocols. Our favorite picks offer modern protocols that work with routers. NordVPN's NordLynx works seamlessly with most models, and so does ExpressVPN's Lightway, which significantly enhances security. WireGuard in the rest of the VPNs is no less awesome. Best of all, it works with the majority of firmware, including OpenVPN. Connection speed was one of our most important criteria. Some VPNs can degrade your performance, which is especially true for free options with slow 1 Gbps servers. These providers reach speeds of up to 300 Mbps in our tests, making them impressively fast. However, be aware that your router's connection speed also affects the overall connection speed. Some of them are optimized for speed but not coverage. Conversely, some prioritize coverage while limiting connection speed to 50-100 Mbps. Last but not least, you should always pick a provider with at least standard security features. We often mention the importance of a kill switch that disables all internet traffic if the VPN connection breaks to keep your IP private. What are the other features? Some of these features include AES-256-bit encryption, IP/DNS leak protection, RAM servers, Private DNS servers, MultiHop, no logging, and more. You won't be using a VPN on a router only. Instead, you'll also install it on your computer or phone, and these devices benefit from added security and privacy. The setup phase is what bothers most users. Is it safe? How do you do it? These are just some of the questions. We can answer the first question with a YES, as long as you're not flashing your router. Flashing your router's firmware isn't always a good idea if you're inexperienced. You can brick the device, potentially voiding your warranty. The second question requires a bit more coverage because there are dozens of router manufacturers and hundreds, if not thousands, of models you can have. This is how the process looks roughly: This is the base for a router VPN setup if the router you're using is VPN-friendly. You should be able to find the VPN section in the control panel and work your way from there. The process differs from that of DD-WRT and OpenWRT, making it challenging to provide a definitive guide. We suggest reading this page from NordVPN to find out more about the setup process for at least 10 different firmware versions. Simply find your router/firmware, click on it, and you'll get step-by-step instructions with images on how to install this great VPN on your router. Bear in mind that if your router isn't VPN-friendly, you'll first need to flash it. After this is done—hopefully with success—you can proceed with the instructions on your selected provider's website. The question of why to use a VPN is typical for people with no experience with them. However, you might be wondering what kind of specific benefits you can get by installing a VPN on your router. Lots of them are there, but we listed the most prominent ones. By far, the best benefit is security for ALL your devices. Think about this. Instead of connecting to a VPN on each device individually, you can just connect to a VPN-enabled router and call it a day. This makes things so much simpler! Since all devices in your home are already hooked up to the router wirelessly, all of them will have added security and privacy. Think about your washing machine or boiler. These devices can be connected to the network and ALSO protected by a VPN — sounds silly, but it's true. That said, if you worry about leaking your browsing history or any internet activity to the public, using the best VPN for routers is a blessing. With every device connected to it, there's no chance your ISP can track you or your online footprints. All five providers we presented are fully compatible with P2P. A simple connection to one of their many servers offers anonymous torrenting, which many users desire. This is especially welcome in the USA, where torrenting activities are often frowned upon. Streaming is another huge factor for many. You can use this service to bypass geo-blocks and unblock restricted sites in a blink. This allows access to sites like BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Hulu, or even gambling sites and adult platforms. Again, this will apply to all devices. As a result, your family can watch one movie on Netflix US while you, in your room, can watch something else at the same time simply by connecting to a VPN router. ISP throttling spoils the fun by trumping your speed and destroying your connection stability. Don't ask us how we know it! Well, we're glad the torture can be cut short with a VPN that eliminates your ISP from the equation and prevents it from harming you. Once your connection is encrypted, your ISP can't track or limit you in any way. This allows you to enjoy the full speed of our favorite VPNs (up to 300+ Mbps in our tests), which is ideal for gaming. It's even better if you have a gaming router with neck-breaking speeds. That, in itself, is a joy for multi-player gaming sessions combined with the safety of a VPN. 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PIA's compatibility isn't impressive, but that can't be said about its privacy and unlimited simultaneous connections. Surfshark's affordability makes it an attractive option for users who prioritize unique security features, robust streaming capabilities, and dedicated IP addresses. Finally, we have CyberGhost, which works fine on all popular router firmware and costs less than a cup of coffee per month. Try NordVPN Now We're not done yet! Let us quench your thirst for more information by answering your questions. It is. The VPNs we presented have no security vulnerabilities and can be used without worry. If you have a router that requires a firmware update, it's another story, because if you're inexperienced, you can brick it and likely void your warranty. Apart from this minor inconvenience, there's nothing to be scared of. Some of them are, but generally, free VPNs are never as good as paid VPNs. They lack pretty much everything. From speed and security to device compatibility, streaming prowess, torrenting allowance, customer support, etc. We'd always choose a premium router VPN instead. Generally speaking, VPNs are not always necessary, but they're beneficial for added privacy and security. Similarly, you don't need to install a VPN on your router if you don't want to. Instead, you can install it on your other devices because the setup is much simpler. It's your call.
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