Client ransomware attacks up 37% in third quarter: Beazley

Reported ransomware attack notifications against Beazley PLC clients in the third quarter of this year increased 37% compared with a year ago, and small businesses were particularly vulnerable, the insurer said in a report issued Thursday.

Cyber criminals often use information technology vendors to pursue their activity, according to the report. Of the ransomware incidents reported, 24% were confirmed to be caused by a vendor managed service provider, according to the Beazley Breach Insights Report.

Small businesses, which often rely on managed service providers to remotely manage their IT infrastructure, reported 63% of all ransomware incidents to Beazley Breach Review Services in 2019, according to the report.

Although “a business’ level of reliance on its MSPs can vary, with some using an MSP to support their own internal IT resources, many small businesses outsource their entire IT function to the MSP, from building the network, managing applications, and servicing any and all IT requests,” said the report.

“This can create a dependent and deeply interconnected relationship that attackers sought to capitalize on in Q3,” the report said.

Chubb reported earlier this month that ransomware attacks in the first half of this year exceeded the total reported for all of 2018.