To pay or not to pay? For companies unfortunate enough to be hit by a ransomware attack, that is the crucial question.
Ransomware attacks — in which cyber criminals lock up a victim’s data or computer system and release it only if a ransom is paid — exploded in 2020 and 2021, in part because a shift to remote working during the pandemic left organisations more vulnerable to hacking.
But the tide appears to be turning. In its mid-year 2022 Cyber Threat Report, US security company SonicWall identified a 23 per cent drop in the number of ransomware attempts. It attributed this to several factors — including a “downward” trend in the number of organisations willing to pay cyber criminals.