Ransomware: A Darwinian challenge for cyber insurance

Darwin’s scientific theory of evolution, outlined in On the Origin of Species, maintains that an organism’s ability to adapt to changes in its environment and adjust accordingly over time determines its survival success.

This process of adaptation is a fitting model for the cyber insurance industry amid the pressures presented by ransomware incidents and claims. The ability to adapt to the challenges presented by ransomware will determine whether individual companies and the industry can evolve to prevent cyber insurance coverage extinction.

This whitepaper examines the environmental causes of ransomware and makes recommendations for how insurers, the industry, regulators and legislators can work to stem this threat to the cyber insurance market.

Topics covered:
• Applying Darwin’s scientific theory of evolution and the Pace Layering Method to the cyber insurance industry.
• Adaptations to ransomware - the path forward for the insurance industry.
• Addressing the ransomware challenge.