Insurers have halved the amount of cyber cover they provide to customers after the pandemic and home-working drove a surge in ransomware attacks that left them smarting from hefty payouts.
U.S. cyber insurers' profits shrank in 2020, insurance broker Aon found. Combined ratio - a measure of profitability in which a level of more than 100% indicates a loss - climbed by more than 20 percentage points from 2019 to 95.4%."It's very unlikely people are getting the same limits - if they are, they are paying an extraordinary amount," David Dickson, head of enterprise at broker Superscript, said.
Meanwhile, cyber security firm Coveware likened the 90%-plus profit margin from ransomware attacks in 2021 to the gains Colombian cocaine cartels made in 1992. Such firms have deep pockets and cannot afford extended outages to fix their systems, so would rather pay ransoms, especially if they have insurance to cover them.
Where ransom payments were typically $600 a few years ago, they now are as high as $50 million, said Michael Shen, head of cyber and technology at insurer Canopius, and insurers are sometimes asking policyholders to pay half of the ransom.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iran-backed hackers accused of targeting critical U.S. sectorsIranian ransomware attacks, unlike those sponsored by North Korea, are not designed to generate revenue so much as for espionage, to sow disinformation, to harass and embarrass foes and to essentially wear down targets, Crowdstrike researchers said.
Read more »
Sign Up for Court AppearancesGhislaine Maxwell is going on trial for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of girls. In our new limited-run newsletter, Court Appearances, Choire will take readers to the courtroom, the streets outside, and inside the tabloid media that fuels her tale
Read more »
Somehow, Hair Tinsel Is Back in StyleCovering the sh*t you like since 1984.
Read more »
For Anyone Looking To Get Started With Crystals, Here Are The Best Stones For Every Astrological SignFrom Aries to Pisces, the entire zodiac is covered in this guide.
Read more »