Special Report: Cyber Attacks

According to the technology security firm, Kiteworks, three of the 10 PIA Western Alliance states are the most at risk for cyber attacks in the U.S. Company spokesman, Patrick Spencer said cyber attacks — as we all know — are on the rise and are hugely impactful financially.

These are the 10 states where cyber criminals are having the most success. The three PIA Western Alliance states are Nevada at 3rd, California at 4th and Washington ranks 8th.

"As cyber threats continue to evolve," Spencer said, "proactive investment in advanced security technologies and employee training can significantly enhance a company's resilience against cybercrime, as well as a greater focus on data security."

1. Colorado

Population: 5,877,610

Total cyber victims 2020 to 2023: 10,776

Total cyber losses 2020 to 2023: $104,476,603

Average change in victim count from 2017 to 2023: +3.8%

Average change in losses 2017 to 2023: +58.7%

Overall cyber risk score: 7.96 out of 10

2. New York

3. Nevada

Population: 3.194,176

Total cyber victims 2020 to 2023: 10,551

Total cyber losses 2020 to 2023: $44,994,168

Average change in victim count from 2017 to 2023: +27.6%

Average change in losses 2017 to 2023: +25.2%

Overall cyber risk score: 7.62 out of 10

4. California

Population: 38,965,193

Total cyber victims 2020 to 2023: 69,668

Total cyber losses 2020 to 2023: $656,847,391

Average change in victim count from 2017 to 2023: +28.7%

Average change in losses 2017 to 2023: +28%

Overall cyber risk score: 7.51 out of 10

5. Missouri

6. Florida

7. Utah

8. Washington

Population: 7,812,880

Total cyber victims 2020 to 2023: 13,676

Total cyber losses 2020 to 2023: $91,125,161

Average change in victim count from 2017 to 2023: +10%

Average change in losses 2017 to 2023: +29.1%

Overall cyber risk score: 7.09 out of 10

9. Virginia

10. Delaware

Picus Security Validation Platform says most of the cyber crime takes place in the business and government world. Dr. Suleyman Ozarslan, Picus co-founder and VP says on average seven of 10 attacks are caught and stopped. However, tests the company has done show that just 56% of companies have detection tools and just 12% of those tools actually trigger an alert.

“Like a cascade of falling dominoes that starts with a single push, small gaps in cybersecurity can lead to big breaches,” Ozarslan said.“It’s clear that organizations are still experiencing challenges when it comes to threat exposure management and balancing priorities. Small gaps that lead to attackers obtaining domain admin access are not isolated incidents, they are widespread. Last year, the attack on MGM used domain admin privileges and super admin accounts. It stopped slot machines, shut down virtually all systems, and blocked a multi-billion dollar company from doing business for days.”

Picus Security found a lot of those attacked firms end up paying ransoms. It found 40% of businesses have weaknesses that give criminals easy access to the network and that will allow them to get admin privileges. Once they have those, they can do about anything they want in the business that could eventually lead to total control.

And once they have total control, the cyber security firm, Sempris says most end up paying the ransom. The company recently polled 1,000 IT and security professionals who were targeted by ransomware and most of whom, paid.

Here’s what Sempris found:

• 74% of that 1,000 businesses were attacked in the last 12 months
• Many were attacked several times, and many within a week
• 78% of those firms paid the ransom
• 72% paid several times
• 33% paid four times or more
• 87% of the attacks caused business disruption including dat a loss
• 16% of the attacks created life and death situations
• 33% of the victims who paid did not get the decryption keys, or they got keys that were corrupted
• 49% needed up to seven days to get the business up and running

Source link: PropertyCasualty360.com — https://bit.ly/3XcPs4D

Source link: Help Net Security — https://bit.ly/3MfdSEi

Source link: Insurance Journal — https://bit.ly/3Mcnxv1