As of 2020, a person, device, or business gets hit with a ransomware attack once every 10 seconds. These attacks rose in prominence by 50% last year amid the chaos of the global COVID pandemic.
The rise in cyber crime can be largely attributed to the sudden shift to remote work that 70% of American workers experienced in 2020. While the change to remote did produce many benefits, it also left massive holes in cyber security. IT departments were no longer able to be at the helm to defend against cyber attacks as employees were now using their personal networks and devices. This, along with data being shared on apps and cloud services, meant that cyber criminals were basically invited to a new and bigger harvest than ever before.
Cyber crime could be considered the third largest economy on the planet, right after the US and China. In 2019, damages due to cyber crime cost $4 billion, but by 2025, it’s expected that these damages will cost $28 billion. In 2015, damages due to ransomware attacks were at $24 million, but fast forward to 2020, and that number has skyrocketed to $170 billion.
Cyber crime and ransomware attacks are on the rise and gaining ground rapidly. Sadly, for small to midsize businesses, just one successful attack could completely run a business into the ground.
In the past year, 66% of SMBs have fallen prey to a ransomware attack, and 60% of these businesses will permanently close their doors within 6 months of a breach. Although SMBs take precautions and put security measures in place, 45% of them do not believe that their security would be effective against a ransomware attack.
This is where cyber insurance comes in. Cyber insurance could prevent a SMB from going out of business and can be the boost a business needs to be able to get back on their feet. Cyber insurance doesn’t cover everything and it doesn’t protect against attacks (that’s for cyber security to handle), but most policies will pay up to $1 million in damages. These damages can include profit losses, liabilities, and lawsuits.
Cyber criminals are ramping up their game. Small to midsize businesses must ramp up their protection to fight back.
Further reading: Introducing Passwordless Security
