New research shows that 20% of Irish businesses have fallen victim to ransomware attacks, a serious form of cybercrime that sees hackers hold a business’ sensitive and critical data for ransom.

This is according to the results of a 2016 Information Security Survey carried out by Data Solutions.

The Irish distributor for IT solutions claims that 80% of businesses upgraded their IT security in the past year and that more than 55% of companies expect to spend more on security measures in 2016 than they did in the previous year.

More than 40% said that they considered brand and reputational damage to be the main risks of a data breach with just 0.8% saying they would consider job loss their primary concern.

The survey was carried out in association with TechPro magazine among 137 senior IT decision makers in Irish businesses during February and March 2016. The full results of the research will be revealed at the Data Solutions Secure Computing Forum taking place in the Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 on 12th May.

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