There is a definite rise of ransomware hits specially on public utilities and government services in the US. What is fueling this? An insightful article by Renee Dudley in Pro Publica sheds a lot of light on what is actually going on.
So what gives? It is substantially easier to pay the ransom, sometimes running into hundreds of thousands of dollars, rather than footing the bills of recovery and technical experts to get the services up and running.
Insurance companies started insuring against Cyber attacks as a part of more comprehensive coverage of “claims related to data breaches, identity theft and electronic financial scams. ..With a loss ratio for U.S. cyber policies (of) about 35% to a loss ratio of about 62% across all property and casualty insurance” it made for a very lucrative segment.
“Crypsis CEO Bret Padres said …There’s “really good money in ransomware” for the cyberattacker, recovery experts and insurers,.. Routine ransom payments have created a “vicious circle…”
This is a trend that will follow the insurance trail to other geographies as well. Time to get your systems sorted.
Where I learnt it # 248
The Extortion Economy: How Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks
