• IT Support Provider letting you down?

    There is a better way...

    Request a Quote
  • Head in the Cloud? Let us clear the path to a brighter IT future for your business.

    Call us on 01268 575300 for more information

    Request a Quote
  • Due for an IT systems upgrade or rethink? We can offer solutions for every budget.

    Call us on 01268 575300 to find out more

    Request a Quote

Ransomware here to stay says Google

binary damage codeBusinesses are being warned to protect themselves after tech giant Google released research claiming that cyber thieves have extorted a total of £19m from ransomware since 2015.

At a talk at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Elie Bursztein from Google revealed the results of research conducted with Chainalysis, the University of California and New York University which looked at bitcoin transactions over the period. It concluded that ransomware has become a “very profitable market and is here to stay”.

Interestingly, Google highlighted the fact that less than 40% of computer users currently back up their data – a move which could protect you in the event of a ransomware attack. It also predicted that more varied strains of ransomware are being developed to compete with the already popular Locky and Cerber strains, which according to the report generated £5.9m and £5.2m from victims respectively.