How cyber criminals are taking advantage of insurance policies to demand ransom

The communication authority of Kenya has revealed a worrying trend of cyber criminals taking advantage of existing  cyber insurance policies to demand ransom from insured companies.

In a report dubbed October –December 2020 Communication Authority of Kenya National KE-CIRT/CC Cybersecurity report, the commission revealed there was a tremendous increase in cyber-attacks in Kenya.

CA stated that the period was characterized by an increase in cybercrime targeting remote workers with attackers taking advantage of the lack of corporate firewalls and other location binding cybersecurity measures amongst remote workers.

However, the report revealed of a worrying trend in ransomware demand from the cyber criminals. The national KE-CIRT/CC observed a continued spike in ransomware attacks during the period October- December 2020. This the commission states is attributed to a growing trend where organizations are taking up cyber insurance to mitigate the financial impact of ransomware.

“However, this has elicited concerns that ransomware demand by ransomware gangs are being guided by these cyber insurance policies.” The commission stated.

Further more, the commission the commission said that these policies are a guiding element for the intensified ransomware extortion campaigns.

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With ICT services playing a crucial role in the mitigation of COVID-19 pandemic, cyber criminals have been exploiting vulnerable ICT systems for fraudulent gains.

The statistics reveals that in the months of July to September 2020 alone, the country experienced a sharp increase in cyber threats during the period, with 35.1 million incidents detected, representing a 152.9 per cent jump.

‘‘Cyber bullying and Internet trolling cases were also on the rise, with these being used for malicious intent across Kenyan domains and social media platforms,’’ reads the report.

During this period, there was an increase in child online abuse, online abuse and online fraud. Of these requests, 1.7% related to child online abuse, 36.2% being attributed to online abuse while 27.4% being linked to online fraud.

The period also saw an increase in mobile money transactions as Kenyans leveraged on mobile money transfer services waiver as a measure to curb COVID-19 with KSh. 735 billion transacted in the three months to September 2020.

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