, new research has shown . According to data protection firm Datto , 87 % of European IT service providers it surveyed said their SMB customers had been hitAttack.Ransomby a ransomware attackAttack.Ransomat 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 demandedAttack.Ransomwas between £500 and £2000 . In 15 % of reported cases the demand was in excess of £2000 . Nearly half ( 47 % ) said paying the ransomAttack.Ransomwas ineffective , as they still lost some of the data that had been encrypted by the attackers . As well as financial penalties , ransomware attacksAttack.Ransomcan 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 attacksAttack.Ransomwill 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 .