Clifford Chance

Ransomware: Prevention & Response

December 22, 2020

Ransomware attacks have drastically increased and become more sophisticated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before this uptick, cybersecurity professionals had predicted global damages from ransomware to reach USD 20 billion in 2021, over 50 times higher than the cost in 2015. In a survey conducted in early 2020 of 5,000 IT managers employed by a range of organizations across 26 countries, over half reported being the target of a ransomware attack—and 75% reported that attackers were successfully able to infect their systems.

In addition to costing companies millions of dollars, ransomware attacks have also become a significant source of regulatory and reputational risk. As privacy and data security increasingly penetrate the global zeitgeist, reports of ransomware attacks have become regular fixtures in international news publications across the globe.

This publication aims to help companies understand and address the risk of a ransomware attack. It provides guidance on how to prevent and prepare for ransomware attacks, what to do if and when a company is the victim of such an attack, important legal considerations from different key jurisdictions, and describes how Clifford Chance can help.

Download PDF