80% of organisations that paid ransom demands experienced a second attack, and 46% of these believed they were targeted by the same hackers, according to new research from Censuswide. Amongst those that paid to regain access to their systems, 46% also said at least some of their data was corrupted, revealed the Cybereason survey. The study polled 1,263 security professionals in seven markets worldwide, including 100 in Singapore, as well as respondents in Germany, France, the US, and UK. Globally, 51% retrieved their encrypted systems without any data loss, while 3% said they did not regain access to any encrypted data. The report revealed that one particular organisation reportedly paid up a ransomware amount in the millions of dollars, only to be targeted for a second attack by the same attackers within a fortnight.
<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has long been known that once an organisation has been struck with ransomware, they will forever be on the map as a victim. However, paying the demands can have even more severe consequences, showing future attackers that the organisation could be easy pickings for some quick cash. Ransoms tend to be calculated so that they are within reach and can be paid quickly, and knowing that a business has previously paid out in the face of such demands gives threat actors – both the original attackers and new cybercriminals – a heads up to the possibility of a repeat attack.</p> <p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </p> <p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once they are attacked, whether they pay the ransom or not, businesses must change their proactive cybersecurity measures to protect their data in every possible way. However the mishap occurred, organisations must expect further attacks, and accordingly ensure that the targeted attack vector is made water tight.</p>