Cyber security expert CyberCube has warned that the cost of cyber insurance is falling at a time when threats from state backed groups are dramatically increasing.

The company has released its latest Global Threat Briefing for the first half of 2024 which reported the  cyber insurance market is witnessing a surge in capacity and competition, leading to a decrease in premium rate hikes.

However, those reductions come as the healthcare and public sectors face escalating attacks, while nation-state cyber activities are anticipated to affect critical infrastructure.

The briefing highlights CyberCube’s perspectives on the cyber threat landscape and how it has incorporated threat actors’ activities into its model to enhance its  aggregation analytics.

Key findings include:

• The ongoing decline in cyber premium pricing can be partly attributed to increased competition and additional capacity entering the market in 2023. Healthcare is the most Exposed industry tracked by CyberCube. The (re)insurance community should be aware of potential widespread cyberattacks that impact healthcare provider systems in 2024. The Public sector is under-secured relative to the advanced threats it faces in 2024. Attacks that impact state and local governments during the 2024 US presidential election are expected.
• Recent nation-state cyber threat activity offers a glimpse into the potential future of cyber catastrophes. CyberCube has conducted an analysis of state-nexus cyber threat actors, including those in Russia, Iran, and China. (Re)insurers can model realistic cyber disasters considering state-nexus cyber activities using CyberCube’s Portfolio Manager.
• CyberCube foresees an escalation in the attacks perpetrated by state-nexus threat actors targeting critical infrastructure. Specifically, Iranian state-sponsored threat actors are likely to target critical infrastructure opportunistically. Russian and Chinese state actors are expected to strategically position themselves to disrupt infrastructure in sectors crucial to the national economy and security of the US and its allies.

It added that in terms of cyber insurance premiums, the average increase stood at 1.6%, a significant drop from the 3.6% rise observed in the previous quarter and the 20% plus uplift recorded a year ago.

“This ongoing decline in cyber premium price hikes can be attributed to (re)insurers gaining better insight into the favourable impacts of price adjustments and underwriting modifications made between 2020 and 2022, as well as heightened competition in the market,” the report explained. “As carriers compete for business, this intensified competition has resulted in a decrease in both premiums and retentions, along with an easing in required sublimits. Moreover, the growing readiness of carriers to underwrite cyber insurance is bolstered by the findings on underwriting capacity in Q2 2023.”

However the briefing warned that the threats are not following the same trend as insurance pricing.

“In light of the escalating cyber threats outlined by CyberCube, the imperative for (re) insurers to proactively model the potential impact of catastrophic cyberattacks on critical infrastructure has never been more urgent,” it explained. “Our assessment accentuates the vulnerabilities faced by critical infrastructure owners in the US due to Iran’s opportunistic cyberattack strategies, China’s significant capabilities in disrupting crucial services, and Russia’s ongoing efforts to target critical infrastructure globally. To address these pressing challenges, (re)insurers and cyber.”

William Altman, CyberCube’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Principal, said: “With the US presidential elections, the public sector becomes an increasingly attractive target for malicious actors seeking to sow chaos and undermine faith in democracy. Moreover, around 64 countries plus the European Union will hold national elections this year, involving nearly half of the world’s population. In some cases, the same cyber threat actors attempting to meddle in the US presidential election will also be active in other countries. Given the potential for significant attacks, bolstering defences in the public sector is paramount in 2024 and beyond.”

CyberCube added risk managers need to  assess the ramifications of cyberattacks on their business.

“These efforts are essential for safeguarding the resilience of vital sectors such as energy, transportation, and logistics against emerging cyber threats and ensuring the continuity of essential services in an increasingly interconnected world,” it concluded.