In wake of last week ’ s ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , technology specialists warn that ‘ paying money Attack.Ransom to a criminal is never a good idea ’ Cybersecurity experts have warned businesses against meeting hackers ’ demands for money Attack.Ransom in the wake of the “unprecedented” attack Attack.Ransom on hundreds of thousands of computer systems around the world . Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to a computer or its data and demands money Attack.Ransom to release it . The worm used in Friday ’ s attack Attack.Ransom , dubbed WannaCry or WanaCrypt0r , encrypted more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries for ransoms Attack.Ransom of $ 300 to $ 600 to restore access . The full damage of the attack and its economic cost was still unclear , but Europol ’ s director , Rob Wainwright , said its global reach was precedented , and more victims were likely to become known in the coming days . The extent of the WannaCry attack Attack.Ransom prompted questions about what to do in the event of a ransomware infection , with many experts advising against paying the ransom Attack.Ransom , saying not only could it fail to release the data , it could expose victims to further risk . Peter Coroneos , the former chief executive of the Internet Industry Association and an expert on cyber policy , said whether or not to agree to ransomware demands Attack.Ransom presented practical and ethical dilemmas . “ These people are criminals , and paying money to a criminal is never a good idea . However , if it ’ s a trade-off between losing your lifetime ’ s family photos and making a payment Attack.Ransom to a criminal , then it ’ s up to the individual to make that judgment call . “ It would be very hard to walk away. ” But Gregory said it would be “ self-defeating ” for hackers not to release data upon receipt of a ransom Attack.Ransom , “ because that would immediately hit the media , and no one would pay ” . But not all ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom were motivated by financial gains , he added . “ If they ’ re a professional criminal organisation , their business model will be to release people ’ s computers once they ’ ve paid the money Attack.Ransom , but you don ’ t know . It could be someone having a laugh , or someone who ’ s trying to learn , or someone who ’ s released it accidentally . “ You just do not know – that ’ s the problem. ” With such attacks hitting computer systems at an “ ever-increasing rate ” , Gregory said prevention was the best course of action . With outdated operating systems “ easy targets ” , he urged individuals and businesses to automate updates and invest in software that protected against viruses , malware and ransomware across not only their computers , but tablets and mobile phones as well . “ It ’ s a combination of factors that will keep people safe ... For individuals , families have got to work together and companies have to take the time to ensure that their cybersecurity practices are up to date. ” Gregory recommended regular if not daily backups of personal data , which would allow victims to wipe the infected computer , reload their data , and start again .

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 . ”