Bitcoin price surge forces insurers to pay more for ransomware attack claims

Several insurers including Switzerland-based insurer Chubb Ltd. are facing a rise in costs related to claims from ransomware attacks following a surge in the price of bitcoin, Bloomberg reported. Michael Tanenbaum, executive vice president at Chubb, said that there has been "a massive escalation" in both the number of attempts and the size of demands as criminals scramble for the cryptocurrency. Top payouts in corporate ransomware attacks exceeded $1 million from mid 2017, compared with $17,000 previously. 

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