IMPORTANT: What Is Ransomware? 1 In 3 Small Businesses ‘Clueless’ To The Danger

A third of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have no idea what ransomware is or how devastating the malware can be, highlighting a series lack of understanding which could seriously harm today’s companies.

According to new research released by antivirus firm AVG on Tuesday, too many businesses are unaware of how dangerous ransomware can be — and how easily it is to become the latest victim of the malware strain.

Ransomware is a type of malicious code that once executed on your system — usually through a malicious link or phishing email — locks your PC, encrypts either your files or hard drive, and demands a ransom payment in return for a decryption key which claims to give you your system back.

One of the latest strains to be detected, MarsJoke, threatens to wipe data if a ransom is not paid within 96 hours.Time-sensitive threats are a common tactic used by ransomware campaign operators to put pressure on victims to pay up, and ransom payments can range from small amounts to hundreds — or thousands — of dollars.

As ransomware can be a very lucrative prospect for cybercriminals looking to cash in, unsurprisingly, infections are on the rise. Locky, Cerber and Virlock are only some of the ransomware variants which are being used in active campaigns against entities including hospitals, governments and gamers.

One UK university has reported 21 attacks in the past 12 months alone.

Last year, the FBI received 2,453 complaints about ransomware hold-ups, and out of these cases that were actually reported, the damage cost victims more than $24 million.

“The true scale of the problem is somewhat hard to define though because, understandably, many businesses and organisations are reluctant to reveal they’ve been held to ransom because of fears about being targeted again, or losing existing or new customers,” AVG notes.

In June, the security firm asked almost 400 SMB customers in the US and the UK whether they knew about ransomware. In total, 68 percent of respondents had heard of the term ‘ransomware,’ but it is the 32 percent — just over a third — that had no knowledge which is the concerning factor.