Ransomware, Cyber Insurance and Cryptocurrency: Are You Covered?

Rampant, worldwide cyber security incidents such as data breaches, phishing attacks, and malware across various industries have caused tremendous damage (physical, monetary, and reputational) to companies and consumers. One only has to open a newspaper (likely a digital one) to witness a new attack. Just in recent years, billions of records have been compromised in massive, high-profile breaches.

Although not a new phenomenon, ransomware has emerged as another nefarious cyber threat. Insurance company Beazley reports that the number of ransomware attacks reported by its insureds quadrupled from 2015 to 2016. In 2016 and 2017, various strains of ransomware such as WannaCry and Petya have entered the global lexicon and wreaked havoc on hundreds of thousands of computers.