Small and medium businesses across Europe are being actively targeted by ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , new research has shown . According to data protection firm Datto , 87 % of European IT service providers it surveyed said their SMB customers had been hit Attack.Ransom by a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom at some point during the previous 12 months . Additionally , 40 % of respondents reported multiple attacks during that time . Just over a quarter of respondents ( 27 % ) reported experiencing multiple attacks in a single day . In terms of the impact these attacks are having , the survey revealed the average ransom demanded Attack.Ransom was between £500 and £2000 . In 15 % of reported cases the demand was in excess of £2000 . Nearly half ( 47 % ) said paying the ransom Attack.Ransom was ineffective , as they still lost some of the data that had been encrypted by the attackers . As well as financial penalties , ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom can also impact the business in other ways . A majority of respondents ( 62 % ) said they ’ d experienced downtime during the attack . For smaller organizations , the combination of financial loss and downtime can threaten the continued operation of the business , Datto said . Frustratingly , just 40 % of ransomware victims end up reporting the crime to the authorities . The FBI has previously said that reporting ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom will help it get a better understanding of exactly how many attacks are occurring as well as help the industry develop its defenses ; traditional antivirus has so far proved to be ineffectual against most ransomware . “ Ransomware is more than just a nuisance ; it ’ s a major money-making operation backed by professional and well-funded organizations , ” said Andrew Stuart , managing director , EMEA at Datto .

French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron 's campaign team confirmed on Wednesday that his party had been the target of a series of attempts to steal Attack.Databreach email credentials since January but that they had failed to compromise Attack.Databreach any campaign data . Macron 's party , known as `` En Marche ! '' or `` Onwards '' , said it had been hit Attack.Phishing by at least five advanced "phishing" attacks Attack.Phishing that involved trying to trick Attack.Phishing a broad number of campaign staff members to click on professionally-looking fake web pages . The latest attacks were confirmed by security firm Trend Micro , whose researchers found links to a cyber espionage group it has dubbed Pawn Storm , the Macron team noted . Other experts link the group , also known as `` Fancy Bear '' or `` APT 28 '' , to Russian military intelligence agency GRU . Russia has denied involvement in attacks on Macron 's campaign . Macron , an independent centrist who has been critical of Russian foreign policy , faces far-right leader Marine Le Pen in France 's presidential runoff on May 7 . Le Pen has taken loans from Russian banks and has called for closer ties with Moscow . `` Emmanuel Macron is the only candidate in the French presidential campaign to be targeted ( in phishing attacks Attack.Phishing ) , '' his party said in a statement , adding this was `` no coincidence '' . In mid-February , an En Marche ! official told a news conference the party was enduring `` hundreds if not thousands '' of attacks on its networks , databases and sites from locations inside Russia and asked the French government for assistance . The Macron campaign said on Wednesday it had carried out counter-offensive actions against the fake web sites , which were designed to trick Attack.Phishing campaign workers into divulging their user credentials . As a further precaution , it also said En Marche ! does not use email to share confidential information .