A ransomware attack cost this entrepreneur a year of his life and almost wrecked his business

Ransomware attacks have proliferated in recent years for several reasons. One is the explosive growth of opportunity: More systems and devices are linked to cyberspace than ever before, and a relatively a small percentage are protected by effective cybersecurity precautions. — 123rf.com

When ransomware bandits struck his business last June, encrypting all his data and operational software and sending him a skull-and-crossbones image and an email address to learn the price he would have to pay to restore it all, Fran Finnegan thought it would take him weeks to restore everything to its pre-hack condition.

It took him more than a year.