Fifth of firms hit by online ransom demands

A fifth of Irish businesses have been the target of online ransom demands in the past year while more than half of top IT professionals don’t believe their firms understand their own security systems, according to a survey by a leading cybersecurity firm.

The survey, carried out by information security company Ward Solutions, corresponded with 170 senior IT professionals and decision- makers in Ireland just prior to the recent WannaCry attacks, which saw 230,000 Windows-operated computers affected worldwide last month.

The results show Irish business has never been more vulnerable, according to Ward Solutions chief executive Pat Larkin.