The number of companies in the U.S. and Canada hit by cyber extortion has reached a record high in 2023, with unprecedented ransom demands, according to the report “Ransomware: a persistent problem in cyber insurance claims” by global insurance broker Marsh, according to its website.
It notes that nevertheless, as cybercriminals become bolder in their requests, more companies are refusing to pay.
Overall, 21% of Marsh’s clients reported cyber events in 2023, the vast majority of which were privacy claims and system attacks leading to unauthorized access and potentially exposed data.
According to Marsh , this rate has remained fairly stable over the past five years – between 16% and 21% – suggesting in part that companies’ cyber controls are keeping pace with the increasing sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks.
However, a record 282 ransomware incidents were reported to Marsh in 2023, a 64% increase from 2022. Although ransomware accounts for only 17% of all filed cybercrimes, ransomware remains a major concern for organizations given its increased frequency, sophistication, and potential severity.
Indeed, the average ransom demand rose to $20 million in 2023 from $1.4 million, while the average payment made was $6.5 million, reflecting the effectiveness of ransomware negotiations, Marsh notes in the report.
Only 23% of its clients affected by cyber extortion in 2023 paid ransom. Most (77%) refused, reflecting a growing trend. In 2021, only 37% of Marsh’s clients rejected cybercriminals’ demands.
The administration of US President Joe Biden is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine worth about $1 billion, which is to be approved by Biden after the Senate passes a new bill on foreign aid funding, CNN reported on April 23, citing its sources.
It is noted that the United States is likely to send Ukraine long-range ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile Systems, for the first time as part of the new aid package.
According to CNN, earlier Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed hope that the ATACMS missiles would be sent to Ukraine by the end of next week. “This should have happened six months ago. The next best time is right now,” Warner said.
The package is also expected to include ammunition, including air defense and artillery munitions, Bradley fighting vehicles and other weapons.
The upper house of the U.S. Congress (Senate) has passed a bill to provide aid to Ukraine. There were 79 votes in favor.
The law is to be signed by US President Joe Biden in the near future.
As reported, the bill approved on April 22 by the lower house of the US Congress (House of Representatives) provides for the allocation of almost $61 billion for purposes related to the support of Ukraine.
In addition to assistance to Ukraine, the package also includes $26 billion in aid to Israel, $8 billion to support US allies in the Indo-Pacific, as well as provisions for new sanctions against Russia, China, and Iran and the US President’s authority to use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
April 23 President Zelenskyy has a phone conversation with US President Joseph Biden, during which Biden assures him that if the bill is approved by the Senate, he will immediately sign it into law.
The White House website confirms Biden’s words that his administration will quickly provide significant new security assistance packages for Ukraine in combat and air defense as soon as the Senate passes the supplemental national security package and he signs it into law.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear that Ukraine would receive long-range ATACMS missiles as part of the US aid package. “And today’s result is that all the dots have been dotted in the ATACMS agreement for Ukraine. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you, Congress! Thank you, America!” he said in a video message on Monday.
The provision of missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers has been a request of Kyiv for the past year, but the US administration has constantly postponed the issue. The missiles are provided for in a congressional resolution passed on Saturday, but it contains a reference to the administration’s ability to refuse to deliver them if it is in the national security interest.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has announced a new $300 million military aid package for Ukraine, including artillery ammunition and HIMARS shells.
“I’m announcing a $300 million emergency security assistance package of weapons and equipment to address some of Ukraine’s most pressing needs,” Sullivan said at a briefing on Tuesday.
He noted that the opportunity to transfer the aid was made possible by “unanticipated cost savings” in contracts that the Defense Department had awarded to replace equipment that had already been sent to Ukraine.
Sullivan noted that the opportunity to transfer the aid was made possible by “unanticipated cost savings” from contracts the Defense Department had signed to replace equipment that had already been sent to Ukraine.
“To be very clear, we can use these cost savings to provide this modest amount of new security assistance right now without compromising the U.S. military. And the president has instructed his team to use those savings,” Sullivan explained.
The White House reported that the announced aid package, in particular, includes a large batch of artillery ammunition and GMLRS used in the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems.
“This is the assistance Ukraine desperately needs to hold the front line against Russian attacks and to counter Russia’s ongoing offensive in eastern and other parts of Ukraine. This ammunition will keep Ukrainian forces firing for some time, but only for a short period,” he emphasized.
Sullivan added that this aid will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition in the coming weeks.
“It goes without saying that this package does not and should not postpone the critical need to pass a bipartisan national security bill,” he emphasized.
The U.S. Department of Energy has sharply raised its forecast for the price of Brent crude oil for both 2024 and 2025 due to the extension of production restrictions by OPEC+ countries. According to a new report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2024, the forecast for the price of Brent crude oil has been raised from $82.42/bbl to $87/bbl.
“As OPEC+ continues to cut oil production, we have lowered our 2024 global oil production growth forecast. The lower growth contributes to a significant reduction in global oil inventories in our forecast for the second quarter of 2024,” the report says.
The oil price forecast for 2025 has been raised from $79.48/bbl to $84.8/bbl.
In January this year, Ukraine increased exports of processed pig iron in physical terms by 5.3% year-on-year to 142,176 thousand tons from 135,073 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Friday, pig iron exports in monetary terms increased by 3.1% to $50.004 million from $48.513 million during the period under review.
At the same time, exports were carried out mainly to the United States (92.26% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (3.88%) and France (2.52%).
In the first month of the year, Ukraine did not import pig iron, as it did in January 2023.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine reduced pig iron exports in physical terms by 5.8% compared to 2022 – to 1 million 248.512 thousand tons, while exports in monetary terms decreased by 26.2% to $471.467 million. Deliveries were made mainly to Poland (51.91% of supplies in monetary terms), Spain (21.41%) and the United States (13.15%).
In 2023, Ukraine imported 154 tons of pig iron worth $156 thousand from Germany (42.31%), Brazil (41.67%) and Poland (16.03%), compared to 40 tons of pig iron worth $23 thousand in 2022.
In 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of processed pig iron by 59% in physical terms compared to the previous year to 1 million 325.275 thousand tons, and by 61.1% in monetary terms to $638.774 million.
In 2022, Ukraine imported 40 tons of pig iron worth $23 thousand, while in 2021 it imported 185 tons of pig iron worth $226 thousand. Exports were mainly to the United States (38.47% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (32.91%) and Turkey (8.12%), while imports were made from Germany (100%).
