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The cost of ransomware in 2021: A country-by-country analysis

The cost of ransomware in 2021_ a country-by-country analysis

The cost of ransomware in 2021_ a country-by-country analysis

Ransomware caused hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage in 2020.

As the world struggled to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, ransomware gangs thrived, with the increased adoption of data exfiltration helping create a lucrative year for the criminals – and a costly and extremely disruptive year for victims.

The average ransom demand grew by more than 80 percent. Globally, a minimum of $18 billion was paid in ransoms, while the cost of downtime in the private and public sectors added billions more in costs.

The statistics below show the devastating economic toll ransomware has taken in a number of key markets. The data includes ransom demands, the cost of downtime, and the overall global cost of ransomware, as well as separate statistics focused on the public and private sectors.

The statistics are based primarily on submissions to ID Ransomware and the calculation method is explained at the end of the report. All costs are stated in USD.

Country-by-country breakdown – Home users included

Ransom demand costs only

Country Total Submissions Minimum Cost (USD) Estimated Costs (USD)
United States 23,661 $920,353,010 $3,682,228,067
Italy 9,226 $346,729,130 $1,387,389,097
Spain 8,475 $298,254,459 $1,193,709,500
France 7,824 $283,816,080 $1,135,795,109
Germany 7,138 $252,609,210 $1,011,001,498
U.K. 4,788 $169,182,845 $677,113,461
Canada 4,257 $164,772,274 $659,246,267
Australia 2,775 $105,978,531 $424,034,780
Austria 1,254 $46,643,868 $186,645,857
New Zealand 399 $14,230,333 $56,951,495
TOTAL (All countries) 506,185 $18,658,009,233 $74,632,036,933

Private and public sector-only – Home users excluded

Ransom demand costs only

Country Total Submissions Minimum Cost (USD) Estimated Costs (USD)
United States 15,672 $596,436,809 $2,385,747,238
France 4,476 $159,738,887 $638,955,546
Spain 4,088 $151,309,229 $605,236,914
Italy 3,835 $147,376,932 $589,507,727
Germany 3,747 $132,558,050 $530,232,201
Canada 3,236 $123,697,351 $494,789,403
U.K. 2,718 $93,475,142 $373,900,568
Australia 2,072 $79,951,174 $319,804,695
Austria 819 $32,252,920 $129,011,681
New Zealand 265 $9,906,552 $39,626,209

 

Total cost: ransom demand costs + downtime costs

Country Total Submissions Minimum Cost (USD) Estimated Costs (USD)
United States 15,672 $4,893,699,209 $19,574,796,838
France 4,476 $1,387,058,087 $5,548,232,346
Spain 4,088 $1,272,238,829 $5,088,955,314
Italy 3,835 $1,198,933,932 $4,795,735,727
Germany 3,747 $1,159,985,450 $4,639,941,801
Canada 3,236 $1,011,008,551 $4,044,034,203
U.K. 2,718 $838,750,742 $3,355,002,968
Australia 2,072 $648,093,574 $2,592,374,295
Austria 819 $256,822,720 $1,027,290,881
New Zealand 265 $82,569,552 $330,278,209

Conclusion

While all figures contained in this report are based on the best information currently available, truly accurate projections are impossible due to limited datasets and information sharing limitations, the absence of incident disclosure requirements, etc.

Consequently, this report is not intended to be an accurate estimate of the true global cost of ransomware. Instead, it’s simply intended to highlight the scale of the problem.

Calculation methods and assumptions

Sources

Useful links

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