- Ransomware operators require more if they see that their victim has cyber insurance
- Businesses with cyber insurance usually pay higher solution requirements
- Those with a backup solution are less likely to pay at all
Ransomware operators will require significantly more money if they discover that the company they are targeting has cyber insurance has found new research.
The discovery was made by a Dutch police officer Tom Meurs while working with his PhD thesis, who saw him analyzing 453 Ransomware attacks between 2019 and 2021, where he discovers one of the first things that threat actors do, after accessing the target environment, is to search for documents in a cyber insurance policy.
If they find it, ransom demand the demand. Generally, it increases by a factor of 2.8x, but if they also manage to steal sensitive data in the process, ransom -the demand increases 5.5 times.
Roses the downfall
This discovery is in line with what cyber security scientists have seen in the past – Ransomware operators trying to speak organizations to pay the demand for ransom and argues that since they have insurance, essentially have nothing to lose.
Law enforcement is generally against paying demand and says it is burning more cybercrime.
The researcher also decided that companies with insurance pay Ransom -Quantity 44% of the time. Those who are not insured paid 24% of the time. Those with insurance pay an average of about $ 800,000, while without – $ 150,000.
“I often read in chat messages that cyber criminals send to each other, or in illegal marketplaces where login information is sold that they specifically look for companies from sectors that pay a lot,” Meurs said.
“My research shows that the ICT sector in particular pays high amounts. Companies from this sector often supply ICT for many other companies, which means that more companies are victims of a single attack. This may be the reason why wages willing to pay is higher.”
The best thing to do that mitigates the risk is to have a strong backup solution created, Meurs concluded. Those with a backup are 27 times less likely to pay the demand for ransom he found in research.
Via Registered
