News

To address the epidemic of ransomware attacks against public and private entities, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its advisory on ransomware payments and included the first-ever sanctioning of virtual currency exchange. The Updated Advisory addresses the sanctions risks associated with paying ransomware actors. It also outlines OFAC’s…

Ransomware actors shifted to more “mid-game hunting” in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, resulting in fewer large ransom payments and more lower payments made by middle-market organizations, according to recent data from Coveware, an incident response and ransomware negotiation firm. The average ransom payment amount stayed around the same level between the second quarter…

Premiums for commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurance lines once again increased in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021, led by a 25.5% jump in cyber. Q2 marked the 15th consecutive quarter of U.S. commercial P&C premium increases—8.3% across all-sized accounts, according to The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) Commercial Property/Casualty Market Index.…

In the final month of 2020, it was revealed that foreign hackers had orchestrated a supply chain cyberattack throughout the past year in an effort to compromise several federal agencies and private organizations. The cybercriminals first infiltrated the digital infrastructure of SolarWinds—a Texas-based technology company—before using that infrastructure to gain access to sensitive data from…

One of the nation’s largest pipelines was forced to shut down in early May 2021 after falling victim to a ransomware attack. The 5,500-mile pipeline is operated by Colonial Pipeline and carries refined gasoline and jet fuel from Texas to New York. This pipeline transports 45% of the east coast’s fuel supplies. The attack—carried out…

Critical infrastructure cyberattacks are increasing in frequency according to Advisen’s loss database, and some experts are worried the worst is yet to come. There are sixteen industry sectors in the United States that make up the country’s critical infrastructure. These sectors are considered so vital their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on…

Keeping workplace technology up and running is vital to any organization’s success. While this task seems feasible, it’s growing harder and harder each year as cybercriminals expand their reach.  It’s not enough to simply protect workplace technology with software and security protocols. It’s also critical for your organization to test the overall effectiveness of these…

Organizations of all sizes and sectors are facing increased cybersecurity risks. Specifically, ransomware attacks—which leverage malware to compromise a victim’s data and demand them to make a large payment to recover it—have quickly become a rising threat across industry lines. In fact, recent research found that these types of attacks have surged by 150% in…

Cyberattacks on global supply chains can cause irreparable harm to an organization’s operational, financial and reputational wellness. These incidents can occur even if your organization is practicing proper cybersecurity methods. Instead of attacking your organization directly, these cybercriminals take advantage of vulnerable suppliers or vendors in your organization’s supply chain to wreak havoc on key…

In recent years, ransomware attacks have steadily been on the rise. These incidents—which entail cybercriminals compromising a device or server and demanding a large payment be made before restoring the technology (as well as any data stored on it) for the victim—are one of the most damaging cyberattack methods, incurring an average of $1 million…