Business Leaders Admit Willingness to Pay Five-Figure Ransoms

Two-fifths (40%) of business executives would be willing to pay at least a five-figure ransom to restore operations following an attack, going against the advice of governments and law enforcement, according to a new report.

Arctic Wolf polled 500 decision-makers from UK firms with over 1000 employees to better understand their security challenges in the new hybrid workplace.

Respondents’ readiness to pay their attackers is often cited as puzzling given that many (39%) don’t have comprehensive cyber-insurance policies in place. Moreover, these payments often fund pay-outs to digital extorters — a practice that is becoming increasingly controversial and has been banned by AXA in France.

However, their attitudes will be music to the ears of the many affiliate groups targeting countless organizations worldwide with ransomware.

As long as victims continue to pay, threat actors will continue to operate undeterred, which is why institutions like the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) strongly advise organizations not to.

It’s also far from guaranteed that victim organizations will regain access to all of their data and systems following payment. There’s an added risk in that today’s threat actors are increasingly likely to have stolen corporate data, which they may monetize at a later date, even after payment.

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