An investigation of individual willingness to pay ransomware

Anna Cartwright, Edward Cartwright, Lian Xue and Julio Hernandez-Castro

Journal of Financial Crime, 2022, vol. 30, issue 3, 728-741

Abstract: Purpose - Ransomware is a relatively new form of financial extortion that is proving a major cyber-security threat to individuals and organisations. This study aims to investigate factors that may influence an individual's willingness to engage in a ransom payment. Design/methodology/approach - This study ran a large survey (n= 1,798) on a representative sample of the UK population. This study elicited willingness to pay (WTP) ransomware and also reasons for not wanting to pay a ransom to criminals. This study then used non-parametric tests and regression analysis to identify factors that influence WTP. Findings - This study finds that women and younger age groups are significantly more willing to pay a ransom, as are those who store photos. There is a strong positive relationship between concern for data breach and WTP a ransom. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first large scale study to look at WTP ransomware. This study identifies a range of factors that can help inform law enforcement to target advice about ransomware attacks.

Keywords: Ransomware; Cyber-security; Cyber-crime; Willingness to pay; Cyber security; Data breach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jfcpps:jfc-02-2022-0055

DOI: 10.1108/JFC-02-2022-0055

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