56 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
SEPTEMBER 2017
IN-HOUSE ADVISOR
A ransomware attack leaves a company with few
options. One may be to resort to backup systems,
if they exist. Another may be to simply pay
the ransom. And then there's cyber insurance
BY PAUL MCLAUGHLIN ILLUSTRATION BY GARY NEILL
The Rise
OF CYBER
INSURANCE
WITHIN A PERIOD of about six weeks, from early May to late June 2017, two major cyber-
attacks targeted businesses and government entities throughout the world.
e first became known as the WannaCry ransomware attack, which targeted computers run-
ning the Microso Windows operating system. Infected computers — estimated at some 230,000
in 150 countries — had their data encrypted, virtually paralyzing a victim's ability to function on-
line. Among the targets was the United Kingdom's National Health Service, FedEx and Telefónica,
a leading telecommunications giant in Spain. Canada was largely spared.
e attackers — allegedly a North Korean cyber-gang known as the Lazarus Group, according to
e Guardian — demanded each victim, if they wanted to have their data unlocked, pay $300 per
computer in bitcoin, a digital currency created in 2009 (that is almost impossible to trace).
A few days aer the intrusion, however, a UK security researcher discovered a kill switch in the
ransomware that effectively disabled WannaCry. CNBC estimated the hackers made only $50,000,
a tiny amount considering the number of machines they had infiltrated.
A second high-profile onslaught occurred in late June. Known as Petya, it too crippled thousands
of computers around the world, including those at Russia's largest oil producer, the pharmaceuti-
cal company Merck & Co. and Ukraine's international airport. Many of the targets were located
in Ukraine, which blamed Russia for the attack. As with WannaCry, the hackers requested $300
per computer in bitcoin to release the encrypted data. Some experts, however, weren't sure raising
money was the actual purpose of the attack. "A growing number of researchers believe the program
was launched just to destroy data," the BBC reported.
