Experts at Allianz industrial insurance company AGCS write this in their Cyber Reports released Wednesday. Therefore, cases of online extortion are not only increasing in number. The damage to the attacked institutions is also increasing, and not just financially. “Double and triple blackmail attacks have now become the norm,” said Scott Sayce, head of cyber insurance at AGCS.
In its original simple form, online blackmail works by hackers uploading encryption malware (ransomware) to a network and then demanding a ransom to unlock it. With double blackmail, hackers also steal sensitive data, which is also later used for blackmail attempts.
In tripartite form, customers, suppliers, business partners, and other links of the organization that was initially attacked are then blackmailed. Sayce and colleagues warn that small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly the target of blackmailers.
AGCS cites US cybersecurity firm Sonic Wall’s estimates of 623 million online extortion attempts worldwide in 2021. That’s double what it was in 2020. Europe. Access portals for hackers are still usually emails with attached files where blackmail software is hidden.
Another scam is also spreading, in which hackers pretend to be superiors and deceive their subordinates with fake money orders and other instructions, according to AGCS. According to the AGCS report, hackers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to move into management roles with manipulated “deep fake” audio files or videos.
In 2021, there was a case in the United Arab Emirates in which $35 million was stolen from a bank after an employee was duped with the cloned voice of his boss.
AGCS believes that in connection with the Ukraine war, the risk of espionage, sabotage and cyber-attacks increased against companies with ties to Russia and Ukraine, as well as allies and companies in neighboring countries. According to the report, state-sponsored cyberattacks can target critical infrastructures, supply chains or businesses.
“So far the war between Russia and Ukraine has not resulted in a significant increase in cyber insurance claims, but it does point to a potentially increased risk from nation states,” said Sayce.
(SDA)