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“They’re recognising that their sort of skills can be used to con help desks and the like into getting them access into companies.”
Once inside, the hackers can use ransom software, bought on the dark web, to steal data and lock computer systems.
Ransomware is the most significant cyber-crime threat we face, says Mr Babbage.
“It’s a national security threat in its own right, both here and throughout the world.”
Others have come to the same conclusion.
In December 2023, Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy warned there was a high risk of a “catastrophic ransomware attack at any moment”.
Earlier this year, the National Audit Office produced a report that said the threat to the UK was severe and advancing quickly.
Companies need to “think about cyber-security in all the decisions they make,” says Richard Horne at the NCSC.
Mr Babbage says he would also discourage victims from paying ransoms.
“Every victim needs to make their own choice, but it is the paying of ransoms which fuels this crime,” he says.
The government has proposed banning public bodies from paying ransoms.
Private companies might have to report ransom attacks and get government permission to pay up.
Back in Northamptonshire, Paul Abbott of KNP now gives talks warning other businesses about the cyber threat.
He thinks companies should have to prove they have up-to-date IT protection – a sort of “cyber-MOT”.
“There needs to be rules that make you much more resilient to criminal activity,” he says.
However, many companies are just choosing not to report the crime but simply to pay the criminals, says Paul Cashmore, a cyber-specialist brought in by KNP’s insurers.
When faced with losing everything, companies give in to the gangs.
“This is organised crime,” he says. “I think there is very little progress against catching the perpetrators, but it’s devastating.”
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