Ransomware attacks lead to companies raising prices

Ransomware attacks are influencing price inflation, according to a new UK survey by Censuswide, commissioned by Veeam Software.

The findings show that large organizations are having to increase costs to customers by an average of 17 percent following an attack. Nearly a quarter of companies (22 percent) say they increased prices by 21-30 percent, while six percent increased prices by 31-40 percent.

In total, a massive 68 percent of companies increased prices for customers by 11 percent or more as a direct result of being attacked. Just one percent of respondents were able to keep prices flat.

According to the Veeam Data Protection Trends Report 2023, 76 percent of UK companies fell victim to a ransomware attack last year, highlighting the scale of the challenge and how it is becoming an unavoidable fact of business life.

Increasing costs for the customer is not the only measure companies are turning to after an attack. According to the findings, 78 percent of UK businesses reduced staff, with 47 percent doing so in the first six months after an attack. In parallel, organizations needed to cut operating costs by an average of 17 percent, with 11 percent doing so by 21 percent or more.

There are fears among business leaders that the consequences of ransomware could be even more severe, 70 percent believe their business would have to close if they suffered another attack. Companies took an average of two months to recover from an attack and 16 percent took between three and six months. The findings also suggest that ransomware has already influenced the closure of many businesses, with 78 percent of respondents reporting that a previous organisation they worked for dissolved within a year of an attack, while a further 20 percent considered disbanding.

"Ransomware has become an unfortunate part of the business landscape, but despite the worrying nature of these findings, it doesn't have to equate to business closure or rising costs. Understanding that ransomware and other data disruptions are inevitable will help businesses take the necessary steps -- such as investing in immutable backups -- to recover their data quickly, safely and reliably when needed. Achieving this level of radical resilience will remove the need to make impossible choices such as increasing costs or layoffs," says Dan Middleton, VP UK&I at Veeam.

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