Ransomware attacks spike by 140%, 57% of organizations agree to pay

Data studied by Atlas VPN reveals that blackmail and ransomware attacks spiked by 140% in 2019 in comparison to 2018.

Wednesday, 10th June 2020 Posted 4 years ago in by Phil Alsop

More and more companies agree to pay the ransom in exchange for the stolen information. In 2020, 57% of companies that suffered from a ransomware attack admitted paying the ransom to get their data back. Back in 2018, the number reached only 38%.

Unfortunately, paying the ransom does not necessarily get you the stolen information back. This year’s survey revealed that only 66% of companies were able to retrieve the stolen data.

Multiple surveys show that hiring a skilled cybersecurity agent helps to prevent ransomware attacks and other cyber incidents. On the matter, Rachel Welsh, the COO of Atlas VPN, comments:

“Victimized companies should not be paying the ransom and should be focusing on preventative methods to ensure these attacks do not happen at all. Hiring a skilled risk professional or an ethical hacker is the best way to prevent any cyber incidents.”

Lack of proper cybersecurity training for each employee, low security-awareness amid workers and gullible behavior are other common causes behind cyber threats.