Ransomware Cases Projected to Double in 2016, Reaching An All-Time High

Advisen, the leading provider of data, media, and technology solutions for the commercial property and casualty insurance market, today published an infographic illustrating a number of cyber risk trends derived from the company’s proprietary cyber database of more than 26,000 cases.

Ransomware incidents, in which a type of malicious code encrypts data and demands payment for its recovery, are one of today’s fastest growing cyber threats. As of mid-year, the number of cases is projected to double from 2015 to 2016, reaching an all-time high. Cyber cases exposing more than one million records peaked in 2013, but the number of cases in 2015 remains 70% higher than those in 2010.

In addition, the number of suits filed alleging a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) reached an all-time high in 2015 and is expected to grow even higher in 2016. Similarly, TCPA violations have increased by 40% from 2014 to 2015, resulting in a 140% increase in settlements within the same time period.

“Other cyber risk categories that have seen steady growth are System/Network Security Disruptions and Privacy Violations, both of which more than tripled in size from 2010 to 2015,” commented Aloysius Tan, Advisen’s Cyber Expert and Product Manager. “Privacy violations grew 13% from 2014 to 2015—a trend we expect to continue.”

Advisen’s cyber database includes more than 26,000 cases involving billions of unauthorized disclosures, thefts, or serious disruptions of customer & employee identities, corporate assets, and systems capabilities. Growing at a rate of 200 new cases with 1000 updates per week, this loss data is housed in a structured, relational database, and is mapped to the appropriate company from our database of over 20 million insureds. Learn more by requesting a cyber demo.

Click here to see the Cyber Risk Trends Infographic.

Advisen Limited. (2016). Ransomware cases projected to double in 2016, reaching an all-time high [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.advisenltd.com/ransomware-cases-projected-to-double-in-2016-all-time-high/

Creating Resilience in the Digital Frontier

For most organizations, every aspect of their business relies on computer systems and the Internet. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber crime, but it is impossible to fully defend against every potential threat.

Dynetics’ Robert Dowling, Tim Layton & Associates’ Tim Layton, and Advisen’s David Bradford will discuss a process to identify, quantify and prioritize cyber risks according to an organization’s specific risk profile, risk tolerance levels, and business objectives. They will also talk about a sensible security program that prioritizes cybersecurity investments to ensure the resilience of the most valuable business assets, and identifies where residual risk can be addressed through insurance.

This free, one-hour webinar is sponsored by Dynetics.

For more info and registration for the webinar, visit http://www.advisenltd.com/events/webinars/2016/07/26/creating-resilience-in-the-digital-frontier/

Advisen Ltd. (2016). Creating Resilience in the Digital Frontier [Webinar].

Number of Product Recalls Has More Than Doubled Over 10-Year Period

Advisen, the leading provider of data, media, and technology solutions for the commercial property and casualty insurance market, today announced the release of a paper that discusses the economic impacts of product recalls and the importance of having recall insurance.

The paper highlights:

• the increasing trend of product recalls from 2005 – 2014

• probability of experiencing a recall of a certain size

• industry composition by type of recall for consumer products, foods/beverages/drugs, and agricultural/environmental

• actual case studies of product recalls

The number of product recalls among food and non-food manufacturers has increased significantly.

Read more at http://bit.ly/2agSb4K

Advisen Ltd. (2016). Number of product recalls has more than doubled over 10-year period [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/07/20/product-recalls-doubled-in-10-years/

A CFO’s Guide to the Strategic Applications of Accounts Receivable Insurance

Advisen released a white paper that highlights the importance of accounts receivable insurance, also known as trade credit insurance. It also looks into how CFOs and senior financial executives can use this type of insurance as a strategic tool. The free, 5-page paper is sponsored by Allied World.

Understanding Accounts Receivable Insurance

What is accounts receivable insurance? How are CFOs using accounts receivable insurance? How different is the use of trade credit insurance in the U.S. and in Europe? ...

Read more at http://bit.ly/29N8V0X

Advisen | Allied World. (2016). A CFO’s Guide to the Strategic Applications of Accounts Receivable Insurance [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/07/19/CFOs-guide-to-strategic-applications-of-accounts-receivable-insurance/

Uncertainty Reigns for Insurers and UK Heads for the Brexit

The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union last week surprised the world, and now has the international insurance community assessing the potential effects – and the key word is uncertainty.

The Brexit campaign succeeded on a 52 percent to 48 percent vote, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had advised against leaving the EU, quickly announced he would step down. While a key motivation of the “Leave” campaigners had been the opportunity to set UK-specific regulations and policies, UK insurers and European insurers with headquarters in the UK currently benefit from the European Single Market and the “passporting” regulatory structure that allows UK insurers to operate in any other EU state without additional authorization. Insurance leaders in Europe have followed Brexit closely, keeping an eye on investments and planning for the two possible outcomes.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/06/28/uncertainty-reigns-for-insurers-and-uk-heads-for-the-brexit/

Erin Ayers, Uncertainty reigns for insurers and UK heads for the Brexit (June 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Ransomware Rises to ‘Epidemic’ Levels: Kaspersky Report

The number of computer users affected by all types of ransomware in the past year grew 17.7 percent over the previous year, up to 2,315,931 users, according to a recent report from Kaspersky Labs, which stated that ransomware has now reached “epidemic” proportions.

“The biggest problem with crypto-ransomware today is that sometimes the only way to get the encrypted data back is to pay the criminals, and victims tend to pay. That brings a lot of money into the underground ecosystem that has grown up around this malware, and as a result we are seeing new cryptors appear almost daily,” said Fedor Sinitsyn, senior malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/06/28/ransomware-rises-to-epidemic-levels-kaspersky-report/

Erin Ayers, Ransomware rises to ‘epidemic’ levels: Kaspersky report (June 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

TigerRisk’s Rod Fox: Benign Catastrophe Losses Won’t Last Forever

NEW YORK—Something, according to Rod Fox, “is going on here.”

Wildfires in unusual locations; the hottest months on record in more than a century; early storms in the Atlantic Ocean; flooding in areas without a history of flooding; and earthquake faults overdue for a temblor point to a troubling realization: “We won’t have benign [catastrophe] activity forever,” said Fox, managing partner and CEO of TigerRisk Partners.

“There’s a fire in the hole,” he said during his keynote address at Advisen’s Property Insights Conference.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/06/28/tigerrisks-rod-fox-benign-catastrophe-losses-wont-last-forever/

Chad Hemenway, TigerRisk’s Rod Fox: Benign catastrophe losses won’t last forever (June 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Directors Face Expanded Risks, Willis Survey Shows

The risks for which corporate directors can be held liable for has increased dramatically over the last five years, particularly in the United Kingdom, according to a recent Willis Towers Watson survey of directors around the world.

Globally, the top five risks faced by directors included regulatory investigations, cyber attacks, risk of data loss, criminal and regulatory fines and penalties, and anti-corruption laws.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/06/28/directors-face-expanded-risks-willis-survey-shows/

Erin Ayers, Directors face expanded risks, Willis survey shows (June 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

You’re fired!': Boards channel their inner Trump with poor reporting IT execs

Boards are putting IT and security executives on notice that cybersecurity is an issue they take very seriously. A new report from cyber risk analytics firm Bay Dynamics reveals that nearly 60 percent of board members say an IT security executive will lose their job if they fail to provide useful, actionable information.

According to the study, titled “How Boards of Directors Really Feel About Cybersecurity Reports,” nearly 90 percent of board members say they are very involved in making cyber risk decisions.  In fact, 26 percent said cyber risks are their highest priority.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/06/28/youre-fired-boards-channel-their-inner-trump-with-poor-reporting-it-execs/

Josh Bradford, ‘You’re fired!': Boards channel their inner Trump with poor reporting IT execs (June 28, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.