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Ransomware attacks have increased 350% since 2018, and the global cost of these attacks grew from $8 billion in 2018 to $20 billion in 2020, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. The average ransom has increased as well, according to a report from Datto, with Managed Service Providers reporting that the amount demanded from SMBs alone averaged $5,900, a figure it says has increased 37% YOY.
According to Coveware, downtime has been increasing due to ransomware attacks; for example, from Q3 2019 to Q4 2019, the company says, "average downtime increased to 16.2 days, from 12.1 days."
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The growth in attacks stems from malicious actors offering ransomware as a service or ransomware kits that are inexpensive and easy for any would-be hacker to use, even without much technical expertise, according to another article posted at Cybersecurity Ventures.
Small businesses that don't have the resources or expertise to develop comprehensive cybersecurity strategies and infrastructure may be easy prey for hackers, according to figures obtained and cited by PurpleSec, and the site notes that small businesses accounted for 43% of all cyber attacks.