70 percent of businesses are willing to pay up for ransomware

We've already seen this week that ransomware is an increasingly popular attack method. The fact that it's a profitable activity for cyber criminals is underlined today by a new report from IBM Security which reveals that 70 percent of businesses pay up to regain access to their data.

This puts criminals on target to make nearly $1 billion in 2016 from their use of the malware. Indeed, the report shows that ransomware made up nearly 40 percent of all spam e-mails sent in 2016, up from less than 0.6 percent in the previous year.

The IBM X-Force study surveyed 600 business leaders and 1,000 consumers to determine the value they place on different types of data. Enterprises it seems are more attractive targets than individuals as over 50 percent of consumers say they would not pay to gain back access to personal data or devices aside from financial data. While over half of consumers initially indicated they would not pay the ransom, when asked about specific data types, 54 percent indicated they would likely pay to get financial data back. Also, more than half (55 percent) of parents would be willing to pay for access to digital family photos compared to 43 percent of respondents without children.

Smaller businesses remain a ripe target for ransomware. Only 29 percent of small businesses have experience with ransomware attacks compared to 57 percent of medium size companies. Although cybercriminals may not view these businesses as offering a big payday, a lack of training on workplace IT security best practices does make them vulnerable. The study finds that only 30 percent of small businesses offer security training compared to 58 percent of larger companies.

"While consumers and businesses have different experiences with ransomware, cybercriminals have no boundaries when it comes to their targets," says Limor Kessem, executive security advisor at IBM Security and the report's author. "The digitization of memories, financial information and trade secrets require a renewed vigilance to protect it from extortion schemes like ransomware. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of our reliance on devices and digital data creating pressure points that test our willingness to lose precious memories or financial security".

You can read more about the results on the IBM Security site and there's a summary of the findings as an infographic below.

Photo Credit: Andy Dean Photography/Shutterstock