"83% of Ransomware Victims Pay the Demand"

Security researchers at ThycoticCentrify have found that more than four in five (83%) ransomware victims in the last 12 months felt they had no option but to pay the extortion demand to restore their data.  The study, which was based on a survey of 300 US IT business decision-makers, also found that close to two-thirds (64%) of companies were victims of ransomware attacks in the last 12 months.  The research further highlighted the substantial damage caused to organizations by ransomware attacks. Half (50%) of respondents said their company had experienced a loss of revenue and reputational damage from an attack, and 42% admitted they lost customers due to an attack. Additionally, around one-third attributed the ransomware attack as the cause for employee layoffs.  The most vulnerable vectors for ransomware attacks are email (53%), applications (41%), and the cloud (38%), according to the IT business decision-makers surveyed.  The researchers stated that encouragingly, there appears to be growing recognition of the need to improve cyber-defenses amid surging ransomware incidents. Nearly three-quarters of respondents have seen their cybersecurity budgets increase due to ransomware threats, while 93% of businesses are allocating a special budget to fight ransomware threats.

Infosecurity reports: "83% of Ransomware Victims Pay the Demand"