Ransomware leading cause of SME cyber claims: Study

Ransomware incidents are the leading cause of cyber claims for small to medium-sized enterprises, NetDiligence said in its 14th annual Cyber Claims Study released Tuesday.

Ransom amounts and the costs of responding to ransomware incidents have “increased dramatically” during the last five years, with demands as high as $80 million and $50 million being the highest amount paid in response to an attack, the Philadelphia-based tech company said in the report.

Of cyber claims submitted between 2021 and 2023, 2,754, or 54%, were due to ransomware. The five-year average cost resulting from a ransomware incident was $17.3 million, the report said.

Business email compromises were the second leading cause of cyber losses at small to medium-sized enterprises. The average cost of responding to an incident was $183,000, the report said.

Hackers were the third leading cause of losses, with the average cost of a hacking incident being $55,000.

Wire transfer fraud and employee mistakes round out the top five causes of cyber losses for SMEs.

The study reviewed data from more than 10,000 insurance claims filed between 2019 and 2023.