Insurance: Risk barometer: Companies fear hackers most

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Cyber ​​attacks are once again at the forefront of the new edition of industrial and corporate insurance company Allianz Commercial’s annual international “Risk Barometer”. Business interruptions come second; Both categories are closely linked because hacker attacks with blackmail software often cripple operations. The company released the report in Munich on Tuesday.

Natural disasters rank third worldwide. But this is not the case in Switzerland: According to the “Risk Barometer”, companies in this country were worried about changes in laws such as tariffs, sanctions or protectionist efforts. Last year, this category ranked fifth.

The shortage of skilled workers is also higher in Switzerland than internationally. It was perceived as the fourth biggest risk, the assessment showed. The risk of a skilled worker shortage ranks tenth worldwide.

Artificial intelligence language models

Last fall, Allianz Commercial surveyed executives, security experts, insurance brokers and other risk experts from 92 countries, both from external companies and associations and internally. More than a third of respondents (1,340 in total) work at large companies with annual sales of more than half a billion dollars.

According to the “Risk Barometer,” criminal hackers are also taking advantage of AI-driven language models that have become an international sensation since ChatGTP was released to the public in the fall of 2022. Cybercriminals use AI applications to deliver larger and faster attacks with extortionware (“ransomware”), program new malware, and create less subtle phishing emails and spoofs, among other things.

“But the increase in ransomware attacks in 2023 was huge,” said Jens Krickhahn, head of cyber at Allianz Commercial. The number of applications increased by more than half in the first half of the year alone. The authors of the “Risk Barometer” assume that the cybercrime wave will continue in 2024.

(SDA)

Source :Blick