"No Evidence Ransomware Victims With Cyber Insurance Pay Up More Often, UK Report Says"
According to new research on the role of the insurance industry in driving the criminal ecosystem, there is no "compelling evidence" that victims of ransomware attacks with cyber insurance are more likely to make extortion payments than those without insurance. This independent study, sponsored by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security, addresses concerns that the cyber insurance industry helps cybercriminals by covering ransom payments. Researchers from the Royal United Services Institute, the University of Kent, De Montfort University, and Oxford Brookes University conducted the study. While there is evidence that cyber insurance policies exfiltrated during attacks are used as leverage in negotiations and to increase ransom demands, the conclusion that ransomware operators deliberately target organizations with insurance has been overstated, according to the study. This article continues to discuss findings from the study on the role of cyber insurance in addressing the threats posed by ransomware.