Summary: A new study finds that if someone is hit by a ransomware attack, having cyber-insurance can cause the operator’s demands to skyrocket. 

It’s never fun getting hit with a ransomware attack. These attacks encrypt your hard drive. You wind up having to pay a ransom just to access your information. If you don’t have enough money to pay, then you can kiss all of the information on your computer goodbye. The best thing to do is to have a backup of all of your information, invest in anti-virus software, and be careful when browsing the web.

One security measure you can use is getting cyber insurance. This is a special form of insurance that covers your business’ liability for data breaches. It’s a great service to get if you’re planning on running a business or if you just want to be more secure. However, this tech could cost you more in the case of a successful hack.

Having cyber insurance can cause ransomware demands to skyrocket

A new report from Dutch police officer Tom Meurs states that ransomware operators want to take advantage of people who want to be more secure. If they manage to infiltrate your system, and they find that you have cyber insurance, then they will demand much more money for you to regain your data.

According to the report, ransomware operators will raise their prices an average of 2.8x their original rate. However, they can ask for as much as 5.5x the initial amount. Ransomware attacks aren’t meant to provide pocket change for the operators, so the initial amounts are already going to be rather high. Increasing it 5-fold could make things rather tough for the business.

Another thing uncovered in the report was that most operators check for insurance first before they extract information. This information came from 453 ransomware attacks between 2019 and 2021. So, it’s pretty clear that businesses with cyber insurance can be a white whale for cybercriminals.