Bad news paying a ransomware demand might cause hackers to come back and ask for more

Date:
Fri, 24 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Description:
Hackers really have no incentive to walk away from a victim - so why should they?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Proofpoint 2026 AIEra
Ransomware Report found 54% of victims paid attackers despite warnings 37% faced repeat extortion after paying; 2% paid but never regained access to files Experts urge prevention: phishing awareness, offline backups, and AIpowered endpoint protection Security researchers Proofpoint have seemingly proved once again that paying ransomware actors does not guarantee theyll
walk away for good - in fact, theyve proven that in many cases, theyll simply come back for more because they know they can get paid.

The company's 2026 AI-Era Ransomware Report, based on a survey of almost
1,000 security professionals across 12 markets, found globally, more than
half (54%) of affected organizations paid their attackers to regain access to locked files and prevent them from sharing stolen documents on the dark web. This is despite repeated pleas by law enforcement and the cybersecurity industry not to engage with the attackers and not to, under any
circumstances, pay the ransom demand. Proofpoint argues that the real-world pressure organizations suffer when faced with disruptions is, in many instances, simply too big to tolerate. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: Asking for a second payment The logic behind the dont pay argument is simple - by paying, the victims are motivating the attackers to do more damage, and are funding future attacks. At the same time, there is no guarantee that the decryption keys will work, that the attackers will really delete the files they had stolen, and that they wont strike again in a few weeks.

This final argument has now been proven. While around half (56%) of victims paid one ransom and regained access, more than a third (37%) faced a second extortion demand soon after paying. Another 2% paid and never regained access at all. You may like Experts warn ransomware hackers will often lower their prices - with some giving discounts up to 96% Almost half of ransomware victims have data stolen before they can even detect an intrusion Reported ransomware incidents are just the tip of the iceberg

Instead of paying the ransom demand, the industry suggests businesses protect their premises by educating their employees on the dangers of phishing, keeping updated backups in offline storage, and running (if possible, AI-powered) endpoint detection and protection services across the entire tech stack.

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