Ransomware in numbers for UK SMBs

ransomware

With the recent spate of ransomware attacks in the UK proving that the threat hasn’t subsided, it is likely a good time to re-think your company’s IT security plan. To this end, we’ll be blogging over the coming weeks about the extent of the problem, the increasing creativity of hackers, the risks and exposure businesses face if ill-prepared, and some practical measures you can adopt to asses and safeguard your business against such a scenario.

What’s the impact of ransomware?

To kick off our series, we start with 10 key stats about how ransomware affects small businesses in the UK.

  1. Ransomware remains the most prominent malware threat to SMBs, with 83% reporting it as the most common security threat
  2. In the first half of 2019 alone, 61% of MSPs report attacks on their clients, with 19% reporting multiple attacks in a single day.
  3. On average, 2 in 5 SMBs report that they’ve fallen victim to a ransomware attack. SMBs with in-house IT teams are at greater risk
  4. When it comes to the ransomware threat, there is a disconnect between service providers and SMBs. 82% of MSPs are “very concerned” about the ransomware threat and 8% report their SMB clients feel the same.
  5. Phishing emails are the leading cause of successful ransomware attacks.
  6. Lack of cyber security education, weak passwords, and poor user practices are among the other top causes of attacks
  7. The aftermath of a ransomware attack can be a nightmare for any business. Almost 50% of victimised clients experienced business-threatening downtime.
  8. The average ransom requested by hackers is increasing. The average requested ransom for SMBs is now £1,990.
  9. And this as downtime costs are up by 300% year-over-year, and the cost of downtime is 53X greater than the average ransom requested in 2019.
  10. 81% of SMBs with backup and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions in place are less likely to experience significant downtime during a ransomware attack. And victimised SMBs with BCDR in place recovered from the attack in 24 hours, or less.

This data is taken from a 2019 Datto study into how ransomware is affecting SMBs in the UK.

In our next article, we’ll look in more at how UK SMBs can plan for and prevent ransomware attacks.

How can I find out more?

As Datto Partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.

Datto