Cyber extortion is becoming more common. Hackers are threatening to leak private data if they don’t get paid a ransom. Globally, that has cost businesses more than $20 billion.
For your own safety and sanity, you should know how to avoid becoming a victim of online extortion. You will learn more about the best ways to avoid falling victim to these hackers in this guide.
1. Strengthen Your Cybersecurity Measures
Strong firewalls are the best way to protect yourself from online extortion. All gadgets, like laptops, phones, and tablets, should have up-to-date security and firewalls.
To keep your online accounts safe, remember your passwords and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever you can. Along with your password, MFA needs you to have a second way to prove who you are. It could be a text message or an app that lets you log in.
Also, make sure that your apps and running systems are up to date. Updates include security patches that address identified vulnerabilities.
2. Monitor Your Systems for Suspicious Activity
In 2025, Gartner did a study that showed that 60% of successful hacks could have been stopped if they had been found early. Set up an intrusion detection system (IDS). Also, check the logs often to find any strange activity, like illegal access or strange data transfers.
If a company has a security operations team that works around the clock, it can keep an eye on its systems. For small businesses, this could mean hiring a security service to keep an eye on breaches as they happen.
3. Educate Your Employees
A report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) in June 2025 states that phishing has increased by an enormous 50% in just the last year. With that in mind, educate your employees about phishing emails, fake websites and calls that are too good to be true.
In addition, let them know how critical it is never to click on links or download attachments from sites you do not trust. Security knowledge must be practiced regularly in much the same way you might exercise.
4. Secure Sensitive Information
According to a study from the Ponemon Institute, businesses that use encryption are 35% less likely to lose money in a cyber extortion attack.
Encryption should be used for both data that is saved (data at rest) and data that is sent (data in transit). When you back up your data, make sure to protect the backups with strong encryption, like AES-256.
For choosing a cloud storage service, you should also think about the encryption rules and security standards.
5. Have a Response Plan in Place
All that aside, you may also get hacked no matter how hard you try not to. It would be best to have an incident response plan in place so you’ll know what to do if you are victimized by cyber extortion.
This ICP should detail how the firm will control the breach, report to law enforcement and notify victims. Having a response plan in place will help you respond sooner, and also mitigate the harm caused by the attack.
Reduce the Risk of Cyber Extortion
Going through cyber extortion can be scary, but if you take the right steps, you can greatly lower your chances of being a victim of these hackers.
Improving your cybersecurity, keeping an eye out for fishy behavior, teaching your staff, keeping sensitive data safe, and clear response plan are all important parts of a complete defense strategy. Protect yourself today so that you don’t become a victim tomorrow.
