AXA Insurer to Stop Paying Payments For Ransomware Offenses in France And Generali Takes a Atake in Electric Scooter Operator Ridemovi
AXA insurer to stop paying payments for ransomware offenses in France
In an apparent industry first, global insurance company AXA announced Thursday that it will stop underwriting cyber insurance policies in France that reimburse customers for extortion payments to ransomware criminals.
AXA, one of Europe's top five insurers, said it was suspending the option in response to concerns from French justice and cybersecurity officials at a Senate roundtable in Paris last month on the devastating ransomware epidemic around the world.
“The word we need to release today is that when it comes to ransomware, we neither pay nor pay,” cybercrime prosecutor Johanna Brousse said at the hearing. According to cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, only the United States overtook France last year in ransomware damage to businesses, hospitals, schools and local governments, with France's total losses being estimated at over $ 5.5 billion.
The suspension only applies to France and will not affect existing policies, said Christine Weirsky, spokesperson for U.S. subsidiary AXA, a leading cybersecurity company in the United States. She also said it would not affect coverage to respond to and remedy ransomware attacks, where criminals in safe havens, including Russia, break into networks, sow malware and cripple them by encrypting data. .
It is only after paying the ransom that the criminals provide software keys to decrypt the data. And last year, many started stealing sensitive data before encrypting networks and threatening to dump it online unless victims pay. This nearly tripled the ransom to an average of over $ 300,000. The average recovery time after a ransomware attack is three weeks.
The insurance industry has come under heavy criticism for ransom payments. Josephine Wolff, cybersecurity expert, Tufts University, said it was part of organizations risk management practices "as one of the costs of doing business." And I think that's really worrying because that's what fuels the ongoing ransomware business - people keep paying ransom. "
An urgent 81-page action plan presented to the White House by a public-private task force last week noted that enriching criminals with ransomware only leads to more global crime, including terrorism. But the authors have not advocated a ban on ransom payments, claiming that sometimes paying can be the only way an affected business can avoid bankruptcy. U.S. officials call ransomware a threat to national security, and some lawmakers are calling for immediate financial help from affected local authorities who are strapped for IT resources and use vulnerable systems.
Often times, ransomware criminals have gathered information about potential targets ahead of time and know when a victim is buying insurance that covers a ransom. Sometimes they even know the payment limit for a policy.
Emsisoft analyst Brett Callow called AXA's move a smart one, noting that some organizations seem more likely to pay a ransom if the money doesn't come out of their own pocket. "The only way to break this vicious circle is to cut off the flow of money and stop paying the ransom."
Generali takes a stake in electric scooter operator Ridemovi
Italy's largest insurer Generali has bought a stake in Ridemovi, which offers bike and electric scooter sharing services to help it grow in Italy, Spain and beyond.
Ridemovi, which operates micro-mobility services in 17 Italian and Spanish cities, said on Monday that Generali had bought the sizeable undisclosed stake through a specialized fund.
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped make two-wheeled transport an essential part of urban mobility, reviving businesses and start-ups offering shared services.
Ridemovi already operates some 30,000 bicycles, e-bikes and electric scooters and said in a statement Monday that Generali's investment through Ocorian Fund Management would help grow to 70,000, mostly electric vehicles.
Founded three years ago, Ridemovi now has about 2 million users and said that with this new funding it could strengthen its position in the two main countries, Italy and Spain, while opening new markets in Europe and beyond.
"Ridemovi is the leading Italian company in the micro-mobility sector and has developed a highly efficient and scalable business model," said Stefano Ferrari, portfolio manager of Generali Investments.
Insurers around the world are under increasing pressure to take action to combat climate change and take climate-friendly initiatives.
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