Ransomware attacks are the “new normal” in cyberspace, threatening all the world’s infrastructure and institutes, including China, a top executive of a leading Chinese cybersecurity company warned on July 11.

Qi Xiangdong, Chairman of 360 Enterprise Security Group, pointed out that governments and public institutions rather than individuals are now the prime target of cyber attacks, after many countries were “blackmailed” by two major ransomware attacks.

“Hackers gained control over data—the backbone of the modern economy—demanding ransom payment in exchange for the data. Media reports showed several hospitals had to postpone operations due to doctors being locked out of patient records. In those cases, the ransom had to be paid,” Qi told reporters on the sidelines of the 16th China Internet Conference in Beijing on July 11.

In theory, cyber attacks are unstoppable, Qi noted, as vulnerabilities in computer systems are unavoidable. “However, this does not mean we go wild, without protection,” he said.

China made up about four percent of the total number of computers in the world affected by the recent ransomware attacks, well below the global average, according to Qi.

“Given that China is the most populated country in the world and has the world’s fastest Internet growth rate, that figure should be in the double digits, closer to the global average. The reason is that China has a good emergency response system in place and responded to the attacks in a timely manner,” Qi explained.

China launched a top-to-bottom emergency response during the recent ransomware attacks, from Central Government bodies including the Ministry of Public Security and the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs to each and every cyber security company.

“The system is designed to protect technology and infrastructure. It’s a talent-intensive industry, demanding a large number of cybersecurity experts to safeguard our cyberspace,” he said.