Ransomware is costing Attack.Ransom UK companies a whopping £346 million every year , despite Britain being labelled ‘ the most resolute ’ country for dealing with the cyber attacks Attack.Ransom . In fact , more than 40 per cent of mid-large UK business suffered on average five ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom during the last year , according to research by Vanson Bourne . However , 92 per cent of security professionals feel confident in their ability to combat ransomware in the future . And there was more good news for British . The survey found the UK to be the most resolute , both in refusing to pay ransom demands Attack.Ransom , as well as the most effective in combatting them . They experience the fewest number of attacks : 40 per cent , versus 70 per cent in Germany , 59 per cent in France and 55 per cent in the USA and enjoy a 43 per cent success rate in successfully defending against attacks . The research , commissioned by SentinelOne , reveals that ransomware is costing Attack.Ransom individual businesses around the globe an average of £591,238 per annum . The research all concluded that the number of companies ravaged by ransomware is on the rise . Results show that the overall percentage of companies experiencing ransomware has increased from 48 per cent in 2016 to 56 per cent in 2018 , however the average number per year has fallen from six to five attacks . The amount of time spent decrypting ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom has also increased from 33 to 40 man-hours . The study also reveals that employees are considered the major culprits responsible for introducing the malware into the business . This was further supported by the fact that phishing Attack.Phishing , which seeks to socially engineer employees , was the top attack vector by which ransomware infiltrated the business in 69 per cent of instances . Migo Kedem , director of Product Management at SentinelOne said : “ It ’ s staggering to see the cost to British businesses of £346 million . This figure shows that businesses are becoming increasingly aware that it ’ s not just the ransom demand Attack.Ransom , but rather the ancillary costs of downtime , staff time , lost business , as well as the data recovery costs and reputational damage that are the biggest concern to British businesses. ” He added : “ On a more positive note , it ’ s good to see CISOs feeling more bullish about their ability to tackle ransomware using the latest behavioural AI-based end-point technology . It ’ s also encouraging to see a clear movement against companies caving in to ransomware demands Attack.Ransom , preferring instead to take more proactive measure such as back-ups and patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability of vulnerable systems . However , the volume of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom is still increasing and their speed , scale , sophistication and success in evading detection with the growth in file-less and memory-based malware , explains why ransomware will continue to be a major threat to CISOs in 2018 and beyond . ”

NHS hospital trusts in England reported 55 cyber attacks in 2016 , according to data obtained by the BBC . The figures come from NHS Digital , which oversees cyber security , and show an increase on 16 attacks in 2015 . NHS Digital said the figures showed a `` rise in reporting , not necessarily a rise in cyber attacks '' . But Oliver Farnan , from the Oxford Cyber Security Centre , said ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom had become more common . 'The risk is going to increase ' Ransomware is software that locks computer systems and then demands a ransom Attack.Ransom to unlock the data . Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ( OUH ) repelled five ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom in 2016 . `` That is something a number of hospitals have seen and is potentially quite worrying , '' said Dr Chris Bunch from OUH . He added : `` Across the health service we are still to a very large extent paper-based ... and as we move increasingly towards digital records the risk is going to increase . '' Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust reported four ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom in 2016 , and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust sustained three ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom each last year . No patient data was lost in any of the attacks on the trusts and a spokesperson for Kings College Hospitals Trust said it had a cyber security response plan that it continually reviewed and monitored . Oliver Farnan from the Oxford Cyber Security Centre , said it was hard to know if enough money was being spent on security in the NHS . `` Money is only really spent on security once everything else is up and running and in place ... it always comes second , '' he said . But David Emm , principal security researcher at internet security firm Kaspersky Lab , said basic steps such as backing up data could make a difference . `` Ransomware is a very blunt instrument , if you have a back-up of data then you are not in a position where people can extort money Attack.Ransom in that way , '' he said . However , Mr Emm said public bodies faced specific challenges , and added that money was an issue . `` They have lots of people accessing the systems , there is lots of data moving in and out of the organisation , that does actually make it harder to secure that information , '' he said . NHS Digital said it had established CareCERT which issues notices about the national threat level and publishes advice on good practice . It said its launch in October 2015 has contributed to the increase in the reporting of cyber attacks , and that more than 100 organisations had received on-site assessments to improve security .