5 reasons why the cost for ransomware attacks is still rising

The threat from ransomware is increasing worldwide. Even and especially in times of working from home, doors are now opening for attackers into the IT infrastructure of companies that were already thought to be closed forever. But even public institutions or hospitals are not spared, as the months-long IT outage at Düsseldorf University Hospital shows. Although patches and security measures were implemented there to close a gap in a CITRIX appliance, the malware that had already been introduced remained undetected for a long time. But the amounts demanded are also steadily increasing.

Recent studies show that ransom payments are consistently in the six- and seven-figure range and are rising sharply. New variants such as the newcomer "Maze," whose creators demand an average of $420,000, are also contributing to this increase - even if not every affected company has to pay the absurd sum of $67 million, as was recently the case with United Health Services (UHS) as a result of the September 2020 attack. But nevertheless, the ransom payment represents only a small part of the total costs incurred by companies and government agencies as a result of a ransomware attack that has taken place. We took a closer look at five factors. And although experts claim it's not a question of if, but only when a company is affected by a ransomware attack, there are measures that can significantly reduce the consequential damage and significantly mitigate the financial consequences.