Severity of Ransomware Attacks Rose 68% in First Half of 2024, Report Shows

Ransomware claims severity spiked by 68% to an average loss of $353,000, according to a new report by a cyber insurance provider.

Coalition published its 2024 Cyber Claims Report: Mid-year Update, which details emerging cyber trends and their impact on policyholders through the first half of 2024.

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The frequency of using ransomware as an attack strategy decreased the half, but there was a spike in the severity and demand amounts, especially those associated with the Play and BlackSuit ransom variants,”

Funds transfer fraud saw a notable decrease in frequency (2%) and severity (15%), according to the report.

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The report also reflected an increase in material cyber risk aggregation in the first half of the year. Attacks on Change Healthcare and CDK Global resulted in widespread third-party business disruption to larger small-to-midsize businesses and mid-market companies.

Nearly 23% of healthcare businesses with more than $100 million in revenue were impacted by the Change Healthcare attack, as were 11% of those organizations with between $25 million and $100 million in revenue. Separately, nearly 75% of auto dealers with more than $100 million in revenue were impacted by the CDK Global ransomware event, the report notes.

Findings in the report include:

• Ransomware drove a 14% increase in overall claims severity, with an average loss amount of $353,000.
• Business email compromise (BEC) was the leading cyber event. BEC frequency increased 4% and accounted for nearly one-third of all claims
• FTF continued a steady decline. After nationwide fraud losses reached $10 billion in 2023, FTF initial severity decreased 15% to an average loss of $218,000.
• Exposed login panels tripled a business’ likelihood of attack. Businesses using web-accessible applications were 3.1 times more likely to experience a claim.

Claims severity among businesses with $100 million and more in revenue rose 140% in period to a historic high, with an average loss amount of $307,000, the report shows. Businesses with $25 million to $100 million in revenue increased 23% to an average loss of $129,000, while businesses with less than $25 million in revenue fell 4% to an average of $73,000.