About four out of five users who were infected by ransomware and paid a fee to recover their files said they would pay again to recover their data if backups.
This is one of the many conclusions of a survey of 1,252 users from 13 countries and is reflected in the Telstra Security Report 2018. The survey looked at various aspects of cybersecurity ,but we will only focus on the findings regarding ransomware.
According to the survey results, respondents reported an increase in attacks in 2017, compared to similar surveys conducted in previous years. Of all infected users, 47% in Asia and Australia and 41% in Europe paid the full amount to regain access to their encrypted files. Of these, 87%, 86% and 82% respectively were able to have 100% access to their files after paying the money. Of those who paid the ransom – 76% of Asians, 83% of Australians and 80% of Europeans – said they would pay the ransom again if they did not have backups available.
Approximately the same percentages apply to those who would pay again in case they become infected with ransomware again in the future.
This is contrary to advice from security companies and governments, which recommend that in such cases we do not pay any money. However, such advice is sometimes impossible to implement in cases where businesses may lose access to very sensitive data and it is preferable to pay the corresponding amount.
