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Cybercrime insurance is making the ransomware problem worse

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Cybercrime insurance is making the ransomware problem worse.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was another outbreak in cyberspace: a digital epidemic driven by ransomware.

Several organisations worldwide fell victim to cyber-extortionists who stole data either to sell to other criminals or held it as a ransom for a profit. The sheer number of attacks indicates that cyber security and anti-ransomware defences did not work or have limited effectiveness.

Businesses are turning to cyberinsurance companies in desperation to protect themselves from attack. But the growth of the cyberinsurance market is only encouraging criminals to target companies that have extortion insurance.

A 2021 study from the University of Leeds found there was a massive acceleration in major cyber-attacks on organisations during the pandemic. The paper also showed a “shift in offender tactics which scale up levels of fear in victims … such tactics include a shift towards naming and shaming victims, the theft of commercially sensitive data and attacks targeting organisations which provide services to other organisations.”

A report by global cybersecurity firm Sophos found that 66% of organisations surveyed, from across 31 countries, were hit with ransomware in 2021, up from 37% in 2020. The average ransom paid increased nearly fivefold to US$812,360 (£706,854). Insurance companies often opt to pay the ransoms that cybercriminals demand – 82% of UK companies pay up.

According to US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations 22 countries are suspected of sponsoring cyberattacks, including the United States.

And a new black market in which cybercriminals provide products and services to other cybercriminals is flourishing and driving the surge in ransomware attacks. So-called ransomware allows everyone from teenagers to skilled amateurs to professional criminals to rent malware, encryption tools, and even Bitcoin wallets.

It is like a criminal renting a gun from another criminal who manufactured it.

In July 2020, three teenagers hacked Twitter. The attack resulted in the hijacking of 130 accounts – some of which included high-profile targets including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Apple, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. The bitcoin accounts associated with their ransomware scam received more than 400 transfers totalling over US$100,000 (£87,000).

The past few years have seen a surge in specialist cybercrime insurance policies. The global cybercrime insurance market is predicted to grow from US$7 billion in gross written premiums (GWP) in 2020 to US$20.6 billion by 2025.

Insurers need to do more to discourage incompetent security practices. Car drivers must pass theory and practical driving tests. But cyberinsurance policies rarely audit the IT security of an organisation before the policy is finalised.

A standardised ISO norm (quality management standards internationally agreed by experts) for software did not exist until 2015. It means customers have no way of judging the security standards of anything produced before 2015. Even now, some of the risk assessments a software would go through in its lifetime could be less rigorous than for the kettle in our home. And ISO testing is voluntary.

The market lacks understanding of large-scale, sophisticated, cyber-attacks. The insurance sector works by determining the probability of an incident happening and the impact it would have. The cyberinsurance market struggles to forecast the likelihood of cyber-attacks because changes in digital technology can be so unpredictable. Attackers’ capabilities and intentions shift rapidly.

Most insurers currently have no long-term data for cyberincidents or ransomware. This has led to underfunded cyberinsurance programs, which rely heavily on optimistic financial models.

As a result it is getting more difficult to secure cyberinsurance as the growing number of claims is forcing valuers to be more discerning in the clients they accept. Lloyds of London released new rules in December 2021 stating that underwriters will no longer cover damage caused by “war or a cyberoperation that is carried out in the course of the war”.

Insurance premiums increased by 22% in 2020 and a further 32% in 2021 across 38 countries. The cost incurred by the business gets passed on to customers. The ransomware demand will contribute to the overall rise in living costs as ransomware costs are being passed on to the customers.

As part of my work with the Northern Cloud Crime Centre, I looked at the effectiveness of laws in the UK to regulate criminal activity in the Cloud. I found the cybercrime legislation in the UK has failed to keep pace with technological and market developments over the past 30 years. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 needs updating to make it more effective at policing cybercrime. If we cannot fix the situation, it will threaten jobs and investment in the UK.

Ransomware attacks are so effective because they exploit human weaknesses and organisations’ lack of technological defences.

Law enforcement authorities advise ransomware victims not to pay the ransom because it encourages further attacks and fuels a vicious cycle.

But prevention is the best solution. Organisations need to put more effort into developing security measures such as a multifactor authentication system. Managers also need to carry out penetration testing, where a cybersecurity expert searches for vulnerabilities in a computer system.

Businesses are legally obliged to have a fire plan in place. The time has come formandatory ransomware and phishing resilience testing. The insurance industry needs to set minimum security requirements as part of the risk assessment. Organisations need greater transparency regarding what security they do and do not have in place.

Consensus is growing among researchers that solid cybersecurity can’t be achieved with technology alone because a human errors are to blame for a huge amount of incidents. The UK government is proposing new laws to regulate cybersecurity standards. But these laws won’t work if it doesn’t invest in public education about phishing threats.

Cybercrime insurance can help minimise business disruption, provide financial protection, and even help with legal and regulatory actions after a cyberincident. But it will not solve the problems that created the vulnerability to an attack in the first place.

Disclaimer: This asset – including all text, audio and imagery – is provided by The Conversation. Ticker News does not guarantee the accuracy of, or endorse any views or opinions expressed in, this asset.

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Apple takes your eyes and your wallet with the Vision Pro

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Welcome to the future of the world, or at least how Apple wants you watch, feel and communicate with it.

 
Apple describes the Vision Pro headset as “a revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world.”

The device features a new operating system that features a 3D interface.

You can watch movies, scroll through apps, pretty much everything you can don on your phone, but this device doesn’t fit in your hands. You use your eyes.

The entire front of the headset is made of polished glass that flows into a lightweight aluminum frame. The top of the headset features a button and a Digital Crown that lets a user control how present or immersed they are in an environment.

But as usual with Apple, there’s a catch, and also, as usual, it’s the price.

The Vision Pro starts at $US3500 and is only available in US retail stores from next year.

Tech commentator Trevor Long told Ticker News the high price will be out of reach for most users.

It comes as Meta licks its wounds having spent billions trying to make the Meta world commercially viable. So why is Apple different? #featured #apple #vision pro #trevor long

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Business

“TikTok represents two national risks to Australians”: should you delete the app?

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Democracies continue to ban popular video-sharing app TikTok over national security concerns

Australia recently banned TikTok from all federal government owned devices over security concerns.

Canberra is the latest in a string of U.S.-backed allies to take action against the popular video-sharing app.

The ban centres around concerns China could use the app to trace users’ data, and undermine democratic values.

Senator James Paterson is the Australian Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, who said TikTok poses a risk to Australians.

“They can get access to awful amount of information on your phone.

“Because it’s beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, there’s no guarantee it won’t fall into their hands,” he said.

Senator Paterson said there are “six or seven million Australians who use the app.”

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Business

Cyber attacks are on the rise, so what is being done to combat them?

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Australia experienced two of its worst cyber attacks on record last year, as the world braces for cyber warfare to rise

 
Ukraine has suffered a threefold growth in cyber-attacks over the past year.

Viktor Zhora is leading Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection agency, who said cyber attacks are occurring at the same time as missile strikes at the hands of Russia.

Mr Zhora said in some cases, the cyber-attacks are “supportive to kinetic effects”.

On the other side of the planet, Russian hackers were responsible for Australia’s Medibank scandal.

“This is a crime that has the potential to impact on millions of Australians and damage a significant Australian business,” said Reece Kershaw, who is the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

Australian Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security is James Paterson, who said Australia can learn from cyber warfare in Ukraine.

“Ukraine is a lesson for the world.

“They are fighting a hybrid war, one on the ground and one online. If there is to be future conflict including in our own region, in the Indo-Pacific, it’s highly likely that the first shots in that war will occur cyber domain not in the physical world,” Senator Paterson said.

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