How Ransomware Victimizes Millions- Valutrics

Four percent of Americans, or 13 million people, have been targeted by ransomware, malicious software that blocks access to a computer or computer system until the victim pays a sum of money. Ransomware caused $350 million in damage last year, “living up to its reputation as the most significant menace targeting Internet users and organizations to date,” according to a report. Half of victims are willing to pay up to $500 to recover encrypted data. The study was conducted last November by iSense Solutions for Bitdefender, a company that offers antivirus software. The survey included 3,009 respondents from Romania, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, France, Germany, and Denmark. The margin of error ranged from plus or minus 4.38% to 6.88% with the United Kingdom at the low end of the range and Romania at the high end. The confidence interval was set for 95%. The majority of respondents are men (52%) between the ages of 36 and 55. Half of respondents are business managers.