Yes, ransomware costs, but not as much as downtime.

According to the Intermedia study results, 72 percent of users at infected businesses could not access their data for at least two days after a ransomware outbreak, and 32 percent lost access for at least five days.

“As a result,” Intermedia said in a statement, “experts observed significant data recovery costs, reduced customer satisfaction, missed deadlines, lost sales and, in many cases, traumatized employees.”

Walters, the senior vice president at Intermedia, said part of the challenge in getting businesses to protect themselves against ransomware is to “make sure that you (have) continuity plans in place to identify that infection, contain the infection, and then very quickly be able to allow the affected users to be productive again in the shortest possible time frame.”