Large UK firms are prepared to pay out more than £136,000 on average to cyber criminals who launch ransomware attacks.

The amount firms with 250 employees or more are willing to pay ransomware attackers is up nearly four times compared with a year ago, according to a survey of 500 IT decision makers by One Poll.

The survey, commissioned by secure connectivity firm Citrix, also shows that more than two-fifths are stockpiling bitcoins in case of a ransomware attack, compared with a third a year ago.

On average, UK firms are stockpiling bitcoin cryptocurrency worth around £46,000, while a third have bitcoins worth more than £50,000 on standby.

The survey also shows that smaller companies are more likely to keep a supply of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin on hand than larger businesses.

Half of the businesses with 250-500 employees polled said they were stockpiling digital currency, up from 36% of this group a year ago. In comparison, just a quarter of businesses with 1,000 or more employees are accumulating cryptocurrency, which is unchanged from 2016.

The decision to stockpile digital currency reflects a widespread attitude that paying a ransom may be necessary. Only 22% of businesses polled said they would be unwilling to pay anything if struck by a ransomware attack, down from 25% a year ago.

UK firms unprepared for ransomware cyber security attack

The 2016 research revealed that one-fifth (20%) of companies with 250-500 employees did not have any contingency measures in place in case of a ransomware attack, however this has fallen to just 7% in 2017.

While many businesses are preparing to block ransomware attacks or pay out if hit, others are missing out on simple cyber hygiene procedures which can limit the impact of a ransomware attack. For instance, over half of large UK firms (55%) still do not back up their data at least once a day.

“Cyber criminals are resorting to ransomware to exploit the vulnerabilities that exist within UK organisations,” said Chris Mayers, chief security architect at Citrix.

“This is no secret, with global attacks hitting the headlines, yet many businesses are still being caught out. Organisations must ensure they’re prepared for the reality of this threat and take action to safeguard the IT network for an attack and protect mission-critical data,” he warned.

Stockpiling a potential ransom may alleviate concerns about ensuring constant access to data, but Mayers said there was no guarantee that data would be returned once a ransom had been paid.

“Instead, committing to robust cyber security techniques and ensuring specific contingency measures are in place to deal with an attack can reduce the chances of falling prey to ransomware in the first place.”

“While more companies are preparing to pay out, many still fail to back data up each day. Organisations should look at dedicated techniques, from encryption to virtualisation, to keep data and apps safe across all devices and desktops – and out of reach of today’s persistent cyber attackers,” he said.

 

 

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