Ransomware Accounts for 41% of Cyber Insurance Claims In the First Half of 2020

One thing is for sure, when it comes to ransomware, it does not care what industry you’re in: everyone is at risk. In the first quarter of 2020, cyber insurance claims range from $1,000 to over $2 million per cybersecurity incident. Overall, ransomware accounted for a staggering 41% of all cyber insurance claims (Source).

Did we get your attention? 

These findings were recorded and published by one of the largest cyber insurance providers in North American, Coalition. Coalition says they’ve seen an increase across every industry- noting specifically that no industry is exempt from the risk of ransomware. Coalition’s findings, combined with the sheer quantity of claims from several cybersecurity firms, confirms that ransomware exists as one of the greatest and highest risk threats to today’s organizations, industry notwithstanding.

Here are some staggering statistics from the first two quarters of 2020: 

1. 260% increase in frequency of ransomware attacks amongst Coalition policyholders.
2. Average ransom demand increased by 47% from previously recorded numbers.
3. The Maze ransomware group was found to be the most destructive, at least financially. Their ransom demands were 6x greater than the overall average of ransom demands.

Many of the ransomware “gangs”, such as Maze and DoppelPaymer who were both named as the most destructive of those currently active groups, are exfiltrating data from hacked networks. From there, they threaten the organization to release data on specialized leak sites, completing a complicated double extortion scheme when they are successful.

Other forms of ransomware include business email compromise (BEC) events and funds transfer fraud attacks. According to Coalition, these two types of cyber insurance have grown 67% and 35% respectively from 2019 to 2020. In both cases of ransomware, the organization is tricked into paying into an account controlled by a hacker group. The attacks take place either via phone or mail, or via email.

Despite an increase in these types of attacks, with early communication with Coalition and immediate intervention, many times most or all of the stolen funds are recovered. The moral of the story? If you’re hacked, act fast.

For questions about cybersecurity for your organization, or if you are concerned you may be the victim of a ransomware attack, contact PK Tech. We are here to help.