Ransomware claims rates from insurance companies are one of the best indicators of the “boom” of cybercrime. According to the latest report released by insurance company Corvus Insurance, from the end of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, all indicators of ransomware attacks have declined significantly:
- Ransomware claim rate halved. In the fourth quarter, the ransomware claims rate was only half of the peak in the first quarter of 2021 — from 0.6% to 0.3%.
- While the average ransom paid in Q3 2021 was unusually high, the average ransom payment for the entire 2021 quarter was approximately $167,000, 44.2% lower than the Q3 figure.
- Overall, businesses actually pay less ransom than ransomware groups demand. The percentage has stabilized at 20% in the final quarter of 2021, well below the previous rate of over 50%. As recently as the third quarter of 2020, the ratio was as high as 44%.
The data also showed a surge in claims related to major cybercrime incidents, including the Microsoft Exchange Server breach and the Kaseya ransomware attack. While these incidents were enough to impact month-to-month ransomware claims rates significantly, the overall average amount of claims declined.
The report also spoke of a “hybrid model of warfare” during the Russian-Ukrainian war involving cyberattacks against public and private sector organizations. While concerns about collateral damage from such attacks are growing, the frequency of ransomware claims decreased by 30% from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 (ending March 15), underscoring the ransomware threat during the war Fragmentation of ecosystems.
The overall severity of ransomware attack losses by industry has changed significantly over the past year, with reports showing significant declines in education and social services, while professional services industries (including but not limited to law firms, consulting firms, and construction companies) increased losses from ransomware attacks. Data are as follows:
- The professional services industry averaged nearly $400,000 in claims in the fourth quarter of 2021, the highest in the industry for the same period.
- The healthcare industry, which started the year at an alarmingly high average for claims, has now recovered to an all-time low, with zero ransomware claims recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Ransomware has been a threat to cybersecurity in recent years. Cybersecurity has also become a hot topic. Nowadays, the network has become an inseparable part of people’s life, so we should pay more attention to network security, protect our privacy, and do a good job in data protection. Protect data with virtual machine backups and more.
