A survey conducted of over 1,000 IT service providers who deal with ransomware on a daily basis resulted in some surprising statistics when it comes to ransomware. Ransomware is the biggest threat to small businesses this year. It has cost US small businesses upwards of $75 billion dollars in downtime. Keep reading to discover the results of this terrifying survey.

1. 95% of IT service providers agree that ransomware is a problem for small businesses.

2. 97% of IT service providers predict that these attacks on businesses will increase significantly in the next 2 years.

3. 9 out of 10 IT service providers report recent ransomware attacks on small businesses.

4. In the first 6 months of 2016, 60% of IT service providers report 1-5 ransomware attacks against small businesses, while 40% report 6+ attacks.

5. In 2016, an unlucky 31% of IT serivce providers report multiple ransomware attacks against small businesses in a single day.

6. The most common strain of ransomware is Cryptolocker, as reported by 95% of IT service providers.

7. While small business clients are quick to call their IT service providers when victimized by a ransomware infection, less than 1 in 4 incidents are reported to the authorities.

8. The number one cause of a ransomware infection? 46% of IT service providers blame phishing emails. 36% accuse the lack of employee cybersecurity training within businesses.

9. 63% of small businesses reported a ransomware attack lead to business-threatening downtime.

10. 48% of small businesses reported critical data loss as a result of an infection.

Remember, small businesses are the most targeted by cybercriminals. Small businesses are considered easier targets for these criminals, and are often targeted repeatedly (especially if the small business pays the ransom). What can you do to protect your business from ransomware? According to the US Department of Homeland Security and the majority of IT service providers surveyed, the #1 solution for ransomware protection is a backup and disaster recovery solution.

We've written an eBook about business continuity and disaster recovery for small businesses. Click the link to download the eBook and educate yourself on how you can protect your small business from ransomware attacks.