Cybercriminals are getting greedier.

Last year, the average ransom to free an encrypted system was $294. According to security firm Symantec, the ransom has increased to an average of $1,077.

“Attackers clearly think that there’s more to be squeezed from victims,” Symantec said in a Wednesday report.

Not only is it more expensive, but the total number of attacks worldwide has increase by 36 percent from the year prior. And the crooks are targeting consumers at a rate of 69 percent of all ransomware infections.

“More and more attackers are now jumping on the ransomware bandwagon and creating new ransomware families or modifying existing ones,” the security firm said.

The main delivery method remains infected emails.

The bad news is that in spite of 34 percent of the victims paying the ransom, only 47 percent regained their files.

Source: Network World