Consumer computers on top of hackers attack preferences

Furthermore, more than a third of consumer ransomware victims around the globe pay cyber criminals to regain access to their data and in the US, where such attacks are most prevalent, 64% pay. Hackers are demanding increasingly ransoms to free computers paralyzed with viruses, as they seek to maximize profits from large numbers of victims willing to pay up.

The average demand embedded in such malicious software more than tripled in 2016 to USD 1,077 from USD 294, and the pricing has continued to rise in 2017, according to Symantec. The marketing of ransomware kits, which sell from USD 10 to USD 1,800 on underground markets, has stimulated the surge in cyber extortion and makes it easy for wannabe cyber crooks to get in the business.