The number of ransomware attacks reported to the UK’s data watchdog and financial regulator rose dramatically last year, reflecting the scale of the threat that file-encrypting malware poses to businesses.
International law firm RPC found that the number of UK ransomware attacks reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2021 doubled from 326 in 2020 to 654 in 2021.
The highest targeted sectors were finance, insurance and credit, and education and childcare.
RPC said the increase is due to the growing profitability of ransomware attacks, with some gangs licencing out their malware in exchange for a cut of the ransom fee.
“It is becoming increasingly rare for cyber to be covered by other types of insurance policies. As a result, businesses that are not taking dedicated cyber policies run the risk of becoming underinsured,” said Richard Breavington, partner and head of RPC’s cyber and tech insurance team.”...