Since 2014, the number of companies hit by ransomware has reportedly doubled. Yet many aren’t taking the right steps to protect themselves.
A survey by KnowBe4 found that the last two years have seen a massive increase in ransomware. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they’ve been hit by ransomware in 2016. In 2014, it was only 20%. And almost everyone (93%) said they expect the trend to continue, with more attacks coming this year.
And even if they haven’t been hit themselves, most (65%) said they’ve known at least one person who’s been a victim of ransomware.
How to stop it
Most IT pros surveyed seemed to agree that something needed to be done to curb the threat: 88% said that increasing user knowledge was key, and 83% said that frequent backups were a good approach.
That said, 70% said their current methods were only somewhat effective at preventing attacks. Nineteen percent said they were very effective.
One solution that was hard for many to swallow, however: paying up.
If faced with a situation where backups failed and weeks of work could be lost, only 42% said they’d pay a $500 ransom and hope for the best.
That’s, of course, a hypothetical. And faced with that situation in real life, many would sing a different tune.
