Businesses in the South West lost £696.4K to cyber incidents between April 2020 and April 2021, according to NFIB reports. However, in reality this is nowhere near the true impact as it's estimated that only 6% of cybercrime is reported to law enforcement, making it one of the most under-reported crimes in the UK.

Mark Liddle, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at Cirencester-based cyber specialists, Core to Cloud said: "Ransomware attacks are a particularly severe threat to businesses of all sizes and have cost the world £14.7 billion so far in 2021. This is expected to grow to £195 billion by 2031."

"They can be scary, especially when businesses are forced to pay a ransom for their data. That's why it's important to stay informed about what ransomware is, how it works and the types of ransomwares there are."

Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents you from accessing your computer (or the data that is stored on it). The computer itself may become locked, or the data on it might be stolen, deleted or encrypted. Some ransomware will also try to spread to other machines on the network, such as the Wannacry malware that impacted the NHS in May 2017.

To help people understand this increasing threat, Core to Cloud are running ransomware events on November 3 and November 4 2021, the first in a regular series of events hosted by Core to Cloud as they help people to understand how to combat cyber security threats.

Some of the most experienced names in the IT industry, including guest speakers from NHS Hospitals and Foundation Trusts in Birmingham and Manchester and family bakers Warburtons, will be taking part in thought-provoking open discussions and equipping attendees with the practical resources and constructive tools to be better prepared for a ransomware attack. There will be a ransomware attack demonstration, and global cyber security vendors such as Cybereason and Cylera will be put to the test.

There will also be a debate and Q&A with Stealthbits, Vectra, Cylera, Cybereason and PenTera.

Phil Howe, Chief Technical Officer at Core to Cloud, says: "Ransomware remains a key and in focus security threat for organisations, especially as they are now so reliant on their digital infrastructure and ransomware attacks are on the increase. This brings into focus all the tools in your cyber security arsenal, how they interoperate, how they automate and how you have the essential visibility to allow you to both stop and secure yourself from a security breach."

Students from Cirencester College, which is currently building a new digital skills centre for 2022, will also attend as part of Core to Cloud's commitment to help inspire local, young technology talent fight against the rising threat of ransomware and keep our cyber future secure.

Guest speaker at the event, Paul Baxter, Information Security Manager at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Ransomware is getting worse not better since the WannaCry global ransomware attack upon the NHS and other organisations worldwide.

"Imagine one morning, without warning, everything is off, all your IT is down, are you ready? It's ever more critical to know what's in your battle box of everything you need to restore key services should you be breached.

What are your mission critical systems, what do you bring back first, is it documented, who do you call when everything has stopped working? When was the last time you tested your major cyber incident business continuity plan? These are all critical questions to help prepare your business in the unfortunate event of a cyber-attack."

For more information, visit https://www.coretocloud.co.uk/