10 Business ransomware statistics that will make you wannacry

With ransomware running rampant around the world, I don’t have to tell you this is a very big deal and one of the biggest threats to businesses and everyday technology users alike. Ransomware attacks like WannaCry of Petya take your data hostage for ransom and can instantly send your businesses into chaos. It’s not just the inconvenience of paying the ransom; it’s the downtime before you can get up and running, the data loss due to poor backup quality, the risk of sensitive information leaking to the public, the loss of public trust. Yet, after seeing the exponential growth of ransomware, it is hard to believe that it is not at the top of many business owners and executive’s priority list, particularly small organizations. Partly due to lack of knowledge, partly burring their heads in the sand, they don’t realize that a single ransomware attack can drive them out of business within days. Whether you are still skeptical of the danger that ransomware poses to your business or  are scared and need validation, if these 10 business ransomware statistics don’t make you want to get started on protecting your organization, I don’t know what will.

1. According to the second annual State of Ransomware study from Malwarebytes and Osterman Research, 20% of small to mid-sized organizations that experienced a successful ransomware infiltration had to cease business operations immediately, and 12% lost revenue. Source
   
2. 57% of SMBs experienced nine or more hours of downtime, with some organizations down for more than 100 hours because of the infection. (Osterman Research) Source
3. How does ransomware enter an organization? Emails account for 64% of infections in the form of attachments and email links. Websites and web applications account for 16% of infections (Osterman Research)
4. According to a KPMG Small Business Reputation & The Cyber Risk study, 58% of consumers said that a breach would discourage them from using a business in the future. View report
5. According to the FTC, ransoms can be as much as $30,000 for businesses, and they have skyrocketed in the past year. Source
6. For 2017, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts global ransomware damage costs will exceed $5 billion, up from $325 million in 2015. Source
7. For 2017, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts global ransomware damage costs will exceed $5 billion, up from $325 million in 2015. Source
8. Ransomware victims have paid more than $25 million in ransoms over the last two years in order to unlock their computer disks and get their data back, according to a 2017 study by researchers at Google, Chainalysis, UC San Diego, and the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Source
9. 93% of phishing emails were infected with ransomware in Q1 of 2016. Source
10. Only 52% of consumers trust retailers to protect their data. Source