Cyber-demic Update

September 2021

A monthly digest on the impact of COVID-19 in the cybersecurity space in particular to the vaccine rollout, remote working and rise of new threat vectors.

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Ransomware labeled “Game Changer” in Cyberinsurance Industry

According to software company Bitdefender, ransomware attacks accounted for nearly one quarter of all cyber incidents globally last year...So no surprise it now accounts for 75% of all cyber insurance claims, up from 55% in 2016 according to credit ratings agency AM Best…Premiums are exploding and I’ve seen 100% increases…It will be a bumpy ride with some opting out of the game, while others will stop covering ransomware demands…Companies need to focus on shoring up their security to pass insurance audits and the best approach is to try to prevent a breach…But the cybercriminals don’t make it easy…They’re baaaack…No I’m not watching the movie Poltergeist…But for those fighting cyber crimes it can be like being in a horror movie with the return of the Russian REvil ransomware gang…Since 2019 they have been conducting attacks on organizations globally and demanding million-dollar ransoms…After their last caper they shut down in July 2021…But they returned recently under the same name so watch out…To learn more about their techniques, a nice overview is here.

Cybersecurity Careers Booming

I hear from my forensics pals that that they are swamped with work and there is not enough talent in the marketplace…Lack of resources extends the timetable so anticipate longer turnaround times for discovery and notifications in the breach process…So for anyone seeking a job right now, you may want to explore this field…A great article to read about how to break in is here…You will also see firms making moves this next year to add to capabilities…Booz Allen, a technology, engineering, and cyber ?consulting firm, recently announced they fully acquired Tracepoint, a digital forensics and incident response company.

2021 in the Record Books

Cybercriminals are not going to let 2021 go by without a big data breach…T-Mobile is the latest victim with approximately 53 million people effected…For a run down of top breaches so far in 2021, go here…It may not make the top 10 this year but we predicted a few years ago the health apps would be vulnerable and I’m no psychic but this week we heard a 60 million records breach among apps like Fitbit were hacked…No surprise…a recent survey by Beazley shows tech risks and cyber threats are the most pressing concern among businesses…However, 55% feel prepared to face incidents…Don’t get yourself in the record books…Make sure you are conducting ongoing employee training on security practices…October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is a timely reminder…For a guide on data breach preparedness, download our free guide…And check out my colleague Brian Stack’s post about things to watch out for like the Pegasus spyware.