- Ransomware operators require more if they see their victim has cyber-assurance
- Cyber-assurance companies generally pay higher ransom requests
- Those who have a backup solution are less likely to pay
Ransomware operators will require much more money if they discover that the company they have targeted has cyber-assurance, according to new research.
The discovery was made by a Dutch police officer Tom Meurs when he worked on his doctoral thesis, who saw him analyze 453 ransomware attacks between 2019 and 2021, discovering one of the first things that the actors of the threat made, after having access to the target environment, is the search for documents of a Cyber-Assurance policy.
If they find it, ransom request increases. Generally, it increases a factor of 2.8x, but if they also manage to steal sensitive data in the process, ransom demand is increased 5.5 times.
Rent the fall
This discovery is in accordance with what cybersecurity researchers have seen in the past – ransomware operators trying to ask organizations to pay for ransom, arguing that since their insurance, they have essentially nothing to lose.
The police are generally against the payment of the request, saying that it feeds more cybercrime.
The researcher also determined that companies with insurance pay the ransom of demand for 44% of the time. Those who are not insured have paid 24% of the time. Those who paid insurance, on average, about $ 800,000 while those without – $ 150,000.
“I often read in cat messages that cybercriminals send each other or in illegal markets where connection details are sold, whether they are specifically looking for companies in sectors that pay a lot,” said Meurs.
“My research shows that the ICT sector pays in particular of the high amounts. Companies in this sector often provide ICT for many other companies, which means that several companies are victims of a single attack. This may be why the desire to pay is higher.”
The best thing to do, to mitigate the risk is to have a high backup solution, has concluded. Those who have a backup are 27 times less likely to pay the ransom request, he found in research.
Via The register
