Data breaches are costly both in terms of financial damage and reputational harm. In 2022, a study by IBM found the average cost of a data breach was £3.39 million, which is only expected to rise in the coming years. In the same report, 60% of organisations with a data breach ended up having to increase their prices, which is not ideal for their customers in the current economy.

While there are many things you can do to help protect against cybercrime, many of them come with a cost, and given that 70% of businesses believe that rising costs are one of their biggest concerns in 2021, many organisations are not in a position to invest in robust security solutions right now.

Firstly, what is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victim’s files and demands a ransom be paid to decrypt them. It’s a growing problem for businesses, with a study finding that nearly 40% of companies have been hit by ransomware attacks. The average ransom demand is £133,000, and the additional cost of downtime, lost productivity, data and reputation can be even higher.