The Alarming Surge in Ransomware Attacks

Join Michael Palotay, Chief Underwriting Officer for Tokio Marine HCC - Cyber & Professional Lines, and Paul Carroll as they continue their discussion on ransomware, cyber attacks, and how businesses can protect themselves.

Insurers can help clients protect themselves — but preventive approaches aren't yet widely implemented, leaving the door open for unscrupulous hackers.

Ransomware attacks have surged almost 200% in the past two years. Severity is up too, with the average demand exploding from roughly $10,000 to north of $100,000. Armed with increasingly inexpensive tools, hackers are expanding where and what they target. There are even developers who sell or lease ransomware, offering Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS).

Minimizing exposure to an attack is possible, but a company must invest in layers of network defenses, training, and maintenance to stay ahead.

This webinar will cover:

Insights from Michael Palotay, Chief Underwriting Officer for Tokio Marine HCC – Cyber and Professional Lines Group, on the evolution of cyber threats

How ransomware and business email compromise attacks harm companies and why cyber insurance is not enough protection

What today’s businesses can do to protect themselves

Date: April 12, 2021

Time: 12:00 pm EDT

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About the Speakers

Paul Carroll

Paul Carroll is the editor-in-chief of Insurance Thought Leadership.

He is also co-author of A Brief History of a Perfect Future: Inventing the Future We Can Proudly Leave Our Kids by 2050 and Billion Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn From the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years and the author of a best-seller on IBM, published in 1993.

Carroll spent 17 years at the Wall Street Journal as an editor and reporter; he was nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. He later was a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

Michael Palotay

Michael Palotay started his career at AIG in 2006 as a Tech E&O and Cyber Liability Underwriter.  In 2009, he joined NAS Insurance to lead their new Tech/Cyber underwriting facility. Over the next 10 years, his team grew to over 36 underwriters, writing over $130M in premium and consistently delivered impressive underwriting profitability.  When Tokio Marine HCC acquired NAS Insurance, Michael was the Chief Underwriting Officer, focusing on maximizing underwriting profitability, product development and overall business development.  He has continued in this role within the Cyber & Professional Lines group at Tokio Marine HCC.