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European cyber attacks on the rise
A wave of ransomware attacks on European companies is causing a boom in cyber insurance claims, according to figures from AIG.
The giant insurer showed that its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa received as many cyber claims last year as in the previous four years combined.Ransomware attacks, in which hackers freeze a target’s systems until a ransom is paid, accounted for just over a quarter of claims last year, up from 13% between 2013 and 2016. Financial service firms and professional services firms (lawyers and accountants) were particularly targeted. The latter made up 18% of claims last year, up from 6% between 2013 and 2016, making them level with financial service firms.
“A lot of the data they have is highly sensitive” says Mark Camillo, head of AIG’s European cyber business. “The accountants might have data on high net worth individuals, or lawyers could have data on merger and acquisition activity.” Of companies that did suffer ransom attacks, Mr Camillo said, only about 10 per cent actually paid the ransom. But he said that hackers were increasingly refusing to hand over the decryption key even when the ransom was paid.