Cyber security leader Imperva surveyed 170 security professionals at this year’s RSA conference.

The results exposed that 32% of participants admitted their companies had been affected by ransomware, with 11% of those systems taking more than a week to recover after being attacked.

The biggest business impact of a ransomware attack is the cost of downtime, admitted 59% of security professionals, because of not having the ability to access systems for customers and employees; 29% confessed they would lose between US$5,000 and US$20,000 a day.

“Whether companies choose to pay the extortion or not, the real cost of ransomware is downtime and lost productivity. Even if victims have backup files or are willing to pay the ransom, the cost associated with productivity downtime adds up quickly. What’s more, the availability of ransomware-as-a-service, combined with high profits for the attackers, means ransomware attacks are likely to escalate in 2017,” said Imperva’s Chief Product Strategist, Terry Ray.

“The interesting thing about ransomware is how simple it is to execute and inflict damage. The reality is that hacking is most often simple, and mitigating it requires proper attention and tools, which do exist and are within reach of most enterprises.”

According to Cable News Network (CNN), ransomware has reached a US$1 billion a year crime.

Written from press release by Leah Alger