A ransomware attack against the police department in Stuart, Florida last year had an unexpected consequence; the police officers had to drop several cases after losing important evidence.
When a ransomware attack hits an institution or company, expectations are roughly the same. People either pay to restore services, which doesn’t always guarantee a decryption key from the attackers, or they don’t pay and lose the information entirely. If they’re lucky, they have backups. The entire process is followed by the purchase of new equipment and services. This means the overall cost of a ransomware attack is usually much higher than the ransom itself, and way higher than the cost of avoiding the whole problem in the first place by setting up a security solution.
