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Canadians Not Protecting Themselves from Ransomware Attacks: New Data from ESETSurvey finds Millennials most likely to never back up files and most likely to pay the ransom TORONTO, May 24, 2016 /CNW/ - ESET®, a global pioneer in proactive protection for more than two decades, today released, new data showing that, although two-thirds of Canadians know what ransomware is, most are not taking steps to defend against it. "Despite a rise in attacks and the increased attention ransomware has received in the last year, many Canadians still aren't protecting themselves," said ESET Senior Security Researcher Stephen Cobb. The survey found that:
"One of the most important things anyone can do to protect themselves from cyberthreats like ransomware is to eliminate the potential loss of documents, photos, music and personal information by regularly backing up their files," said Cobb. "While we are seeing that increased education efforts are helping more people understand the threats that exist, there are still far too many Canadians not taking the necessary steps to defend themselves." Interestingly, despite Millennials' reputation for being tech-savvy, the data showed that they are the least prepared to handle a ansomware attack:
This survey comes on the heels of a report from the ESET research team that shows that ransomware is on the rise. In fact, ESET LiveGrid® detected a significant increase in detections of the malware from October 2015 to March 2016. Practical tips consumers and businesses should take to defend against ransomware attacks can be found here. Ransomware is a type of malicious software (or malware) that holds files hostage until a ransom is paid. In April, the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) issued a joint alert with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to warn about the proliferation of ransomware. It is estimated that Canadians were affected by more than 1,600 ransomware attacks per day in 2015. About ESET: About the survey: SOURCE Eset Canada Inc. 
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