Covid-19: likely increase in cyber attacks

Willis Re, the reinsurance subsidiary of Willis Towers Watson, is conducting a survey on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic called the "2020 Cyber Risk Outlook".

For this study, nearly 1 000 experts in risk management, compensation, underwriting and insurance brokerage from 56 countries were interviewed. The majority of respondents (86%) expect an increase in the frequency of cyber attacks due to Covid-19. Nearly 32% of them ranked business interruption as the main cause of cybercrime.

The sudden and massive transition to telecommuting is increasing the cyber vulnerability of many companies. Other risk-aggravating factors include data leaks and ransom demands. 75% among those surveyed by Willis Re, expect an increase in demand for cyber risk coverage and 74% of them believe that the price of such coverage will increase in the coming months.

The projected losses linked to cyber attacks are believed to reach 10 billion USD.

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