X-Industry

It is never easy to negotiate with criminals, especially in the cyber-world we live in.  Organizations that fall victim to a ransomware attack should never let the cyber criminals know they have cyber insurance, because if the attackers know that their victim holds an insurance policy, they are more likely to outright demand the ransom payment in full.  Criminals are smart and cunning.

Cybersecurity researchers recently examined over 700 negotiations between ransomware attackers and ransomware v

The prevalence of ransomware has had a devastating impact on businesses over the past few years, with insurance underwriters seeing increasingly large ransomware payouts.  As a result, some core cyber security hygiene fundamentals are being required by insurers to qualify for coverage.   Many companies wrongly assume that having backups in the cloud can prevent or reduce the impacts of a ransomware attack.   For example, secure cloud backup has become a hard and fast requirement. Most cyber insu

Recently, ransomware criminals claimed as trophies at least three North American insurance brokerages that offer policies to help others survive the very network-paralyzing, data-pilfering extortion attacks they themselves apparently suffered.

Cybercriminals who hack into corporate and government networks to steal sensitive data for extortion routinely try to learn how much cyber insurance coverage the victims have. Knowing what victims can afford to pay can give them an edge in ransom negotiati

The world has entered a new era of cyberattacks.  There have been decades of viruses, breaches, and other forms of attack, last year saw increased hacker sophistication, the propensity to pay in ransomware cases, and a broad swath of geopolitical uncertainty conditions that hackers have found favorable.

The forecast for any organizations seeking or renewing cyber insurance is looking grim.

• 25% average premium increase.
• Ransomware/extortion coverage limitations-lower limits and coinsurance.
• Insu

US insurance leader Geico says hackers stole driver's license numbers from its website after they supplied personal information that they had acquired elsewhere.   The driver's license numbers are believed to have been used "to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits," Geico reported.  Unemployment fraud has skyrocketed since Covid.

The US Labor Department's Office of the Inspector General estimated that between April and September 2020, as much as 10% of the $360 billion spent as part of t

One of the largest insurance firms in the US CNA Financial was reportedly hit by a “sophisticated cybersecurity attack” on 21 March 2021.  The cyber-attack disrupted the company’s employee and customer services for three days as the company shut down “out of an abundance of caution” to prevent further compromise.

Founded in 1967, the Loews Corp subsidiary is among the top 10 cyber insurance companies and the leading 15 casualty and property insurers in the US.  It employs about 5,800 workers and