Collaborate Disseminate
A new and attractive hybrid category of company is emerging at the intersection of software and financial services, creating buzz in the investment and entrepreneurial communities. Continue reading The fintech endgame: New supercompanies combine the best of software and financials
A city in California didn’t disclose a ransomware payment for more than two years after its insurer covered the cost, the city manager acknowledged amid yet another ransomware attack on the municipality. In 2018, officials in Azusa, Calif. paid $65,000 through its insurer Chubb to free up its most vital system and used a free decryption key to unlock the others, City Manager Sergio Gonzalez said. The hackers took control of the city’s police dispatch system for more than a week in the fall that year, he said. State-by-state data breach notification laws have different triggers for when hacking victims must report publicly on what happened. “We did not make a public statement and did not have to file anything legally because we could confirm that no data was migrated out” of police servers, Gonzalez said, according to local new accounts. In an interview with CyberScoop, Gonzalez said the city […]
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Yes, you read that correctly. FORTY MILLION DOLLARS. Continue reading Cyber insurance giant CNA paid out $40 million to its ransomware attackers
Ransomware gangs have now struck two cybersecurity insurers in as many months, with AXA confirming over the weekend that an attack had affected its Asian operations. AXA joins CNA Insurance, which in April confirmed that a ransomware incident had forced the company to take its operations offline. The attack on AXA, though, comes shortly after the French insurer said it would no longer reimburse ransomware payments under new policies it writes in that country, although a source familiar with the attack said there was no connection between AXA’s decision and the attack on its own networks. The so-called Avaddon ransomware operators posted screenshots of information online that they said they obtained from AXA’s Asia Assistance subsidiary. The screenshots include a claim that the operators stole three terabytes of data, such as customer medical reports and claims, customer IDs and bank account papers, payments to customers and other health information. “Asia […]
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When French insurer AXA signaled last week that it would no longer write new cyber-insurance policies covering extortion payouts to criminals, ransomware and cyber insurance experts had two reactions. They wondered why it took so long, and how long it would take others to follow suit. Ransomware is an ever-increasing cause of cyber-insurance claims, according to industry estimates, and having such insurance may make policyholders more likely to be attacked. A representative of the REvil ransomware gang said in a March interview that the group specifically targets victims known to have cyber-insurance, because they’re “one of the tastiest morsels” who can more easily afford to pay. In perhaps the biggest ransomware payment of 2020, smartwatch maker Garmin paid a reported $10 million and said it wasn’t sure how much its insurance would cover of all the costs, which it didn’t enumerate by type of expense. Those conditions can perpetuate themselves. […]
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While insurance providers continue to get disrupted by startups like Lemonade, Alan, Clearcover, Pie and many others applying tech to rethink how to build a business around helping people and companies mitigate against risks with some financial security, one issue that has not disappeared is fraud. Today, a startup out of France is announcing some […] Continue reading Shift Technology raises $220M at a $1B+ valuation to fight insurance fraud with AI
“Challenger” startups in banking and insurance have upended their industries, and picked up significant business, by building more customer-friendly tools and services — more personalized, easier to access, and usually competitively priced — than those typically provided their bigger, incumbent rivals. Now, a startup out of Romania that is building tools to help the incumbents […] Continue reading FintechOS nabs $60M for a low-code approach to modernizing legacy banking and insurance services
Should insurance companies be banned from helping companies pay ransomware demands? How has malware messed with motorcars in the United States? And how are cybercriminals exploiting alcohol drinking during the pandemic?
All this and much more is d… Continue reading Smashing Security podcast #223: Booze, nudes, and insurance dudes
Major U.S. insurer CNA confirmed this week that it was the victim of a ransomware attack and that it has taken several steps on the road to recovery. The company, one of the biggest players in cybersecurity insurance specifically, had previously acknowledged an attack, but stopped short of specifying exactly what kind. In an update on Thursday, the company said it had restored normal email operations after a ransomware attack, adding that it instituted multi-factor authentication and a security platform for detecting and blocking threats. “Our team deployed additional endpoint detection and monitoring tools for an added layer of security and visibility across our network,” the update reads. “We expect that there will be a number of other remediation and infrastructure enhancements.” The attack has proven a source of misery for the company since hackers hit on March 21. Like other insurers, CNA would represent a tempting target for hackers […]
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Continue reading CNA shares details about ransomware attack, recovery effort
Insurance firm CNA Hardy says that it has suffered a “sophisticated cybersecurity attack” that has impacted its operations, including its email system. According to a statement posted on the firm’s website, CNA determined it had falle… Continue reading Cyber insurance giant CNA hit by ransomware attack