We want to start by proposing that you imagine the volume of information circulating in your company. Confidential trading histories with customers, financial records such as annual profits, strategic information about the direction of operations, and a myriad of other business data.

Have you ever stopped to think how much, in cash, all that data is worth? To cybercriminals who are keeping an eye on your digital assets, it is worth millions of dollars. Proof of this is that in August 2021, the FBI recovered $13 million extorted from victims of a ransomware attack, which demonstrates the billion-dollar risk that companies are exposed to when they don't invest in data security. 

In the ransomware attack, the main method used and which is being increasingly refined, cybercriminals find a vulnerability in your system, gain access to it, and hijack your information. They then demand a ransom, which can range from millions or billions of dollars.

How much damage can a company suffer to recover its data?

According to data from CIO, 65% of companies choose to pay ransom when they suffer an attack. In 2016, the sum reached $1 billion, and in just one year, that amount has quintupled to $5 billion. On average, the amount paid by victims in 2021 was $327,000,

In only 1% of cases is the amount recovered. In the United States alone, most small or medium-sized businesses that suffered attacks in 2020 went bankrupt in 2021. For these enterprises, it is much more difficult to recover financially after such episodes.

Brazil, in turn, still in the first half of 2021, became the fifth country with the highest number of cyber attacks, adding up to a 92% growth of occurrences in the year.  

Cyber attacks are on a high-risk scale because they represent an opportunity for criminals, as they render sensitive any company's greatest asset: its data.

In most cases, attackers encrypt critical data, such as access to the system, preventing the operation from functioning normally. Without this control, therefore, the damage from downtime can be even more significant than the amount required to restore the data.  

Despite this, less than half of the victims who decide to pay the hackers a fee get their kidnapped data back. When it is returned, there is no guarantee that it will be intact or that it is not being illegally traded on the deep web.

In 2021, according to PSafe data, the total damage generated by ransomware attacks was $25 billion. By 2022, this figure is expected to increase by 50%. It is not hard to imagine the impact this has on the economy.

What do cybercriminals take into consideration when setting the ransom value?  

There is a logic behind how much to charge each company, based on a series of company information such as annual profit, revenue, and number of employees.

Following this logic, it is common for large companies to receive ransom demands for sums ranging from $10 to $20 million. For smaller ones, this amount is around R$100,000.

Biggest ransomware attack in history

Considered by experts to be the largest ransomware attack in history, WannaCry shook the world in 2017, starting in Europe and reaching 250,000 cases in 116 countries. The hackers took advantage of a hole in the Windows operating system, which had already been patched by Microsoft - but many users had not yet updated, allowing the digital attack to spread easily.

Faced with these threats, it is time for your company to anticipate, know your sensitive points and protect your data from a possible cyber attack. This type of action is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and investing in digital security is preserving your business operations.

To keep your company's greatest asset safe, contact us and find out the best ways to protect yourself. We are here to help you.