Corvus Insurance, an AI-driven cyber underwriter, has released findings from its fourth Corvus Risk Insights Index. Its Index is compilation of industry trends and data analysis based on the company’s claims data, threat intelligence research and proprietary scanning technology. The firm finds that despite a 60 per cent increase in ransomware attacks in early 2023, fewer organisations are paying ransoms, and property security controls are proving as an effective deterrent. The beginning of 2023 saw an increase in the frequency of ransomware attacks with 452 new victims’ data appearing on dark web leak sites in March. Even with this rise, the rate of claims at Corvus has continued to downtrend this year, compared to the previous year. Other notable findings include a 52 per cent overall reduction in ransomware claims in 2022. Attacks were less frequent in the US in 2022, compared to other countries. Ransomware attacks began to spike again in March 2023, the Index shows, as industry-specific shifts in the US, including telecommunications, saw an 800 per cent increase in attacks while the US government faced a 220 per cent increase in attacks. Commenting on the Index’s key findings, Jason Rebholz, chief information security officer at Corvus Insurance, says: “More [firms] have cyber insurance, for one thing — along with enhanced security controls required by insurers since ransomware’s previous peaks. More organisations are able to face down attackers.” “Left unchecked, ransomware will continue to flourish. Corvus policyholders have not seen the same increase in ransomware activity, which we attribute to better security controls and proactive risk management.” To learn more about the evolution of cyber risk and its impact on the captives market, review ‘Don’t get your wires crossed’ in CIT Issue 243.
