- Eight out of ten ransomware victims reported paying, but the recovery remained uncertain
- Cybercriminals now point to emails and executive contracts for leverage
- More than half of the companies reported attacks linked to the vulnerabilities of AI
New research has affirmed that smaller companies continue to face threats in digital space, with particular ransomware attacks by hitting hard.
The latest Hiscox cyber preparation report found from almost 6,000 companies surveyed, more than half (59%) said they had been affected by some type of cyber attack during the past year.
Financial penalties followed for a third of those affected, and many reported operational interruptions, damage to reputation and even staff exhaustion.
Problematic reality of ransomware payments
Ransomware remains an important source of damage, and the report reveals that 27% of respondents had experienced such an attack, of which 80% admitted having paid a rescue.
Despite this, the recovery was far from guaranteeing, since only 60% managed to recover all or part of their data, while almost a third were requested to pay again after the initial transaction.
The findings suggest that payment attackers create little certainty and can only encourage more extortion attempts.
Calls are growing for greater transparency, with 71% of respondents stating that companies must be obliged to reveal rescue payments and amounts involved.
The report indicates that criminal groups are increasingly addressed to confidential commercial data, such as contracts, executive emails and financial information.
These items may have a price according to the reputation value, which makes them easier to monetize than stolen personal data.
“Cybercriminals are now much more focused on stealing confidential commercial data. Once stolen, they demand payment … Threats of prices based on reputation damage,” said Eddie Lamb, global cyber chief in Hiscox.
“This change has exposed gaps in data loss prevention controls of some companies, which the attackers are easily exploited.”
At the same time, more than half of the respondents said they had suffered incidents linked to vulnerabilities related to AI, ranging from defenders to weaknesses in third -party applications.
Although Nealry two thirds (65%) still consider more an opportunity than a threat, the findings point to new risks that business leaders still cannot understand completely.
To counteract these threats, companies are increasing their security budgets and adopting measures that include staff training and new technical safeguards.
Companies are resorting to layers in layers, such as ransomware protection, elimination of automated malware and integral antivirus systems.
These solutions often combine Firewalls, password administrators and safe backup tools to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen general resilience.
While these measures can reduce exposure, the attack scale suggests that no system is infallible.
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