Ransomware cases projected to double in 2016, reaching an all-time high

Cyber threats continue to escalate

NEW YORK – July 28, 2016 – Advisen, the leading provider of data, media, and technology solutions for the commercial property and casualty insurance market, today published an infographic illustrating a number of cyber risk trends derived from the company’s proprietary cyber database of more than 26,000 cases.

Ransomware incidents, in which a type of malicious code encrypts data and demands payment for its recovery, are one of today’s fastest growing cyber threats. As of mid-year, the number of cases is projected to double from 2015 to 2016, reaching an all-time high. Cyber cases exposing more than one million records peaked in 2013, but the number of cases in 2015 remains 70% higher than those in 2010.

In addition, the number of suits filed alleging a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) reached an all-time high in 2015 and is expected to grow even higher in 2016. Similarly, TCPA violations have increased by 40% from 2014 to 2015, resulting in a 140% increase in settlements within the same time period.

“Other cyber risk categories that have seen steady growth are System/Network Security Disruptions and Privacy Violations, both of which more than tripled in size from 2010 to 2015,” commented Aloysius Tan, Advisen’s Cyber Expert and Product Manager. “Privacy violations grew 13% from 2014 to 2015—a trend we expect to continue.”

Advisen’s cyber database includes cases involving billions of unauthorized disclosures, thefts, or serious disruptions of customer & employee identities, corporate assets, and systems capabilities. Growing at a rate of 200 new cases with 1000 updates per week, this loss data is housed in a structured, relational database, and is mapped to the appropriate company from our database of over 20 million insureds. Learn more by requesting a cyber demo.