Coalition, cyber insurance and security company, announced the results of its H1 2020 Cyber Insurance Claims Report. The report explores top cybersecurity trends and threats facing organizations today, in addition to data showing the impact of COVID-19 on cyber insurance claims. The report garners insights from the incidents reported across 25,000 small and midsize organizations.

Coalition found that cyberattacks have increased in number and severity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes organizations implemented to facilitate remote work have given cybercriminals new opportunities to launch unprecedented campaigns, exploiting mass uncertainty and fear. In fact, since the beginning of COVID-19, Coalition observed a 47% increase in the severity of ransomware attacks, on top of a 100% increase from 2019 to Q1 2020. Coalition also found that newer strains of ransomware have been particularly malicious, with costly ransom demands and criminal actors threatening to expose an organization’s data if they don’t pay the ransom demand. They report that the average Maze demand is approximately six times larger than the overall average ransom demand.