Insurers may be encouraging ransomware attacks because these companies continue to pay attackers, according to a ProPublica investigation and cited by the HIPAA Journal.
One of the reasons insurance companies are paying ransoms is because it is the more cost-effective solution, rather than pay to rebuild systems from scratch and restore data from backups.
Major cities have found themselves paying millions over what was a thousand-dollar ransomware demand. The city of Baltimore was hit with a ransomware attack earlier this year. The hackers were demanding $76,000; however, the city refused to pay. Costs for the ransomware attack are now up to $5.3 million and counting.
Although some companies might see paying the ransom as the quickest and least expensive option, it is not always a positive solution. According to the report, paying ransoms gives hackers signs that these forms of attack are effective.