Around 60% of companies worldwide are hit with ransomware attacks every year! Don’t become another statistic – make your sensitive data and PII completely bulletproof to ransomware and other data leak disasters!
The Ransomware Threat
Like a form of digital kidnapping, ransomware is any type of malicious software or malware typically designed to block access to a computer system or encrypt a user’s data until the “ransom” is paid.
Even in 2026 and beyond, this sort of cyber attack poses a significant global threat. That’s because, as anti-ransomware tactics continue to evolve, so too does the relentless ransomware. In fact, nearly 63% of businesses worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks in 2025.
And that pressure isn’t expected to subside anytime soon.
Annual Share of Organizations Affected by Ransomware Attacks Worldwide – 2018 to 2025
Source: Statista – Business Ransomware Attack Rate
The Ransomware Impact
With millions of businesses hit by ransomware attacks every year, what happens next?
You may be surprised to learn that many attacks result in ransom payments made to the cyberattackers. And you’ll be even more surprised to learn that ransomware payments since 2020 are estimated at over 6 billion USD!
That means countless companies around the world are hit with ransomware and have no choice but to pay in full to regain access to their sensitive data and PII. And one successful ransomware attack only breeds another, and another, and another…
So, what are you supposed to do? How can you make your business strategically bulletproof to ransomware today?
Nullify Ransomware Attacks
The answer might not be what you’d expect. If you’ve got potential attackers at your front gate, then the obvious answer is to fortify the gate even more. If they’re at your walls, make the walls twice as thick, right?
Unfortunately, when it comes to ransomware attacks, the hackers aren’t just at your front gate or walls; they’re at the back, tunneling under the keep, diving in from the air, recruiting your citizens from within, and more. High defensive measures are a must, but it’s impossible to 100% prevent ransomware attacks.
So, what’s the solution? Ensure there’s nothing to ransom when you get hit.
Ransomware Wants Your PII
The greatest “score” a cyberattacker can make is to gain access to a company’s private and sensitive information. Employee names and addresses, financial reports, social security numbers, tax data, customer information, healthcare reports, emails – these all pose a digital goldmine for ransomers.
Not only is it dangerous to have such sensitive data in your business storages for a myriad of reasons, but it’s also illegal under data regulations like the GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.
That means the solution to both data security regulations and ransomware attacks is the same: Remediate your data storages of all potentially damaging PII. You can’t lose what’s not there in the first place.
Prevent Ransomware with PII Tools
If the way to nullify ransomware is to not have any sensitive data on hand, then should you simply delete all of your corporate data? Of course not.
This is where the sensitive data discovery software PII Tools comes in especially handy. This automated and customizable PII scanner allows you to discover, analyze, and remediate sensitive data anywhere in your business environment.
Maintain the data you need, and move, redact, or erase any at-risk PII. PII Tools offers full in-house audits, data migrations, and, of course, Breach Incident Management, for when that dreaded ransomware attack finally strikes.
With new features like the AI Data Protector, which scans at-risk PII before you run it through any third-party AI tools, and Person Cards® for streamlined data breach investigations and DSARs, you’ll be equipped with all the weapons you need to fully mitigate the impact of a ransomware attack.
Safeguard Your PII
If you accidentally let a Trojan horse in the front gates and the ransomware attackers break into your “treasure room”, then you can imagine the relief knowing you’ve already moved the “royal jewels” to another location.
Don’t let your business become another ransomware statistic in 2026 and beyond. Become bulletproof to ransomware and all forms of data breaches by securing and remediating your sensitive data today! Trust me – future you is already grateful you did.
Want to See PII Tools in Action? Schedule a FREE Hands-on PII Tools DEMO!
