Cybercriminals Are Raking in Profits from Ransomware

For years, law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts have urged businesses and consumers to avoid making ransomware payments.  

That’s because when you make a ransomware payment, there is no guarantee that you will get your data back from whoever is holding the information hostage.  Plus, you could wind up supporting the efforts of a criminal or even terrorist organization in the process.  

Unfortunately, this message is still not getting through to businesses and consumers.

Many people are still unclear about what to do after a ransomware attack, and employers and employees are now making ransomware payments in record numbers.

According to one study, global ransomware costs will exceed $5 billion this year. This is an increase from $325 million in 2015. The average amount paid in ransom for office workers is now about $1,400.

What’s interesting is that 59 percent of workers who have suffered a ransomware attacks at work have personally paid the ransom. And 37 percent claim that their employers paid the ransom.

A lack of education is partly to blame for this. At least one third of office workers, for instance, claimed they have not received ransomware education. This is a major problem as businesses are getting hit with ransomware every 40 seconds.

So as we look ahead to 2018, business leaders should make it a point to increase education and awareness about ransomware. This is not a problem that will go away any time soon. Businesses need to have formal plans in place so that workers know exactly what to do in the event of an attack.