Ransomware forces many UK companies to buy Bitcoin

Many companies in the UK are storing Bitcoin in the event of a ransomware infection, according to a recent survey by national information technology experts.

Data security company Citrix released the results of a survey by public relations firm Censuswide, which revealed that the ransomware malware, which encrypts computer files until a ransom is paid (usually in Bitcoin), has been used by some companies in the UK.

33% of respondents said their companies store a certain amount of Bitcoin just in case.

Smaller companies, with fewer than 1,000 employees, appear to be more willing to do so: 36% of respondents with 250 to 500 employees and 57% with 501 to 1,000 employees have already paid for the bitcoin ransom they might need.

Larger companies seem less willing to store bitcoin for this purpose. Companies with more than 2,000 employees said they have taken similar approaches to dealing with ransomware, but only 35% said they would be willing to pay a ransom for their data.

The survey of 250 experts in the UK was small, but the results suggest that at least some companies are preparing for the worst.

Meanwhile, ransomware attacks continue to make headlines, with Canadian news outlets reporting earlier this week that the University of Calgary had spent $20,000 to fix problems with limited email service.