The UK is third in the world for ransomware attacks, according to new research by NordLocker.

The UK was surpassed only by the US and Canada as first and second most targeted countries respectively.

The cybersecurity company’s study analysed databases of ransomware incidents that affected over 5,000 companies worldwide.

Out of 18 industries identified in the UK, NordLocker found that business services - 10 per cent – was the most likely to be attacked by ransomware.

Education at around 10 per cent, construction at roughly nine per cent, transportation at about eight per cent, and manufacturing at seven per cent were the other industries most likely to be hit by ransomware in the UK.

In the UK, small-sized businesses were found to be at the highest risk, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all attacks at 62 per cent.

Companies with an employee count of between 51-200 were found to be the victims of 34 per cent of attacks, and those with between 11-50 employees were victims of 19 per cent of ransomware attacks.

Meanwhile, companies with headcount between 201-500 only dealt with about 15 per cent of all ransomware attacks.

“Ransomware is a type of cyberattack that forces a company’s operations into a halt by taking possession of its most crucial and sensitive files and demanding a ransom from the company to get the data back,” said Tomas Smalakys, CTO at NordLocker. He continued: “This type of attack is extremely effective and in the past few years cases have grown exponentially, while cybersecurity awareness has failed to catch up.”

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