Occurring more rampantly, today’s ransomware attacks are far more destructive and extensive in attacking the systems they takedown. From 2020 to 2021 alone, the total cost of ransomware increased by 243% with the current annual cost of ransomware attacks summing upward of $20 billion.
On average, ransom demands were $108,000 for small businesses (those with < 1,000 employees) and $225,000 for large businesses (those with 1,000 – 5,000 employees) in 2020 according to Sophos. Mid-sized organizations paid an average of $170,404. On top of these large bribes, the typical costs of recovering from a ransomware attack were double the ransom itself. The average bill for rectifying a ransomware attack totaled $1.85 million, which includes downtime, people time, device cost, network cost, lost opportunity, and the ransom paid.
To worsen the road to recovery, cyber insurance claims are being denied, a problem nearly as menacing as the ransomware attacks themselves. 41% of cyber-insurance claims were related to ransomware attacks in Q1 and Q2 of 2020. As ransomware attacks occur more frequently, insurers have begun invoking limits or stopped covering ransomware altogether.
As of late, 73% of American insurers have begun declining more applications for cyber coverage. Virtually all insurers are lessening coverage for high-risk sectors, auditing applicants’ security when they apply, reducing total coverage limits, and capping ransom payouts, making the journey to ransomware recovery long, difficult, and oftentimes, unsuccessful. Without conducive insurance plans, businesses must re-establish footing on their own two feet.
It’s pertinent to safeguard your assets and data. Investing in cybersecurity is one step towards preserving your business and a trajectory of success. With greater complexity and augmented ransoms, ransomware attacks threaten more than just bribes, putting whole corporations at stake. Protect your business from cyberattacks and the depleting road to recovery.
