Fraud and ransomware dominate cyber insurance claims

Ransomware accounts for 23 percent of cyber insurance claims, while while fraudulent funds transfer (FFT) accounts for 28 percent according to insurance specialist Corvus, which has released its latest Risk Insights Index.

The impact and consistency of FFT is growing, accounting for 36 percent of all claims in the last quarter (Q3 2022), an all-time high. Indeed this metric has not dropped below 25 percent for the past six quarters.

The rise in FFT incidents is linked to business email compromise (BEC), with FFT representing 70 percent of all BEC-related claims, showing that it's a highly effective way for threat actors to monetize social engineering attacks.

"Global cybercrime is growing more complex by the day, presenting security leaders with new challenges. With the power of security insights and dynamic claims data feeding Corvus's technologies, we can help our policyholders improve their cybersecurity posture by informing them of emerging threats and best practices," says Jason Rebholz, chief information security officer at Corvus Insurance. "While ransomware continues to be a dominant risk, we are seeing tactics change, including the rise of other forms of extortion as well as funds transfer fraud. The findings from our report serve as a reminder to all security leaders that cybersecurity is fluid and attackers will shift their methods, even revisiting old tactics, so long as they continue to reap financial benefits."

Corvus also observed a 66 percent increase in third-party breaches in 2022, including a 20 percent increase in the share of third-party ransomware attacks.

Data exfiltration has seen a 25 percent increase from H2 2021 to H1 2022 too. It now occurs on nearly 50 percent of ransomware claims, a historic high, suggesting that attackers are attempting to generate additional points of leverage to increase the likelihood of a ransom payment.

"It's vital that the cybersecurity and insurance industries stay connected to remain agile in the changing threat landscape," adds Rebholz. "Rising instances of data exfiltration show that cybercriminals will respond quickly to thwart security professionals, and identify creative ways to increase leverage in ransom negotiations. Insurers have visibility into these changes, enabling us to take an informed, proactive approach with our brokers, policyholders, and partners. It's Corvus's responsibility as a leading insurtech to not only make our policyholders safer, but also to help empower the industry at large to make the world a safer place."

The Risk Insights Index is available on the Corvus site.

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