Corvus Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Travelers Companies, Inc., has released its Q2 2024 Cyber Threat Report, Ransomware Season Arrives Early. Featuring data collected from ransomware leak sites, the report identified 1,248 ransomware victims in Q2, the second most the company has recorded in a single quarter.During the quarter, new ransomware groups, including PLAY, Medusa, RansomHub, INC Ransom, BlackSuit and some additional lesser-known factions, led a series of attacks that eclipsed the first quarter of this year by 16% and the second quarter of 2023 by 8%. These new threat actors emerged following the takedown of LockBit and BlackCat by international law enforcement.Ransomware Demands and Payouts on the RiseBased on Corvus data, the Q2 report found that the average ransomware demand reached $1,571,667. That represents a quarterly increase of 102% and the highest figure Corvus has reported since the second quarter of 2022. The average ransom payment also reached a new high of $626,415.According to the research, a company’s backup strategies can impact payouts. Businesses without robust backups are more than twice as likely to surrender to ransom demands during an attack

Fintech companies in Boston and the wider fintech industry in the city is undergoing a period of transformative rapid growth and innovation. As a hub for cutting-edge financial technology, Boston is home to a ecosystem of fintech startups and established companies that are reshaping the way digital financial services are delivered.By harnessing the power of advanced technologies, fintech companies in Boston are not only enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of financial services but also setting new standards for customer experience. In this dynamic environment, Boston’s fintech companies are playing a crucial role in driving the future of finance, both locally and globally.Leading fintech companies in Boston range from providers of global payments, small business lenders, digital banks as well as digital voice solutionsFlywire: Flywire are a global payments enablement and software company who combine their proprietary global payments network, next-gen payments platform and vertical-specific software to deliver complex payments for their clients and customers. Flywire recently acquired Invoiced, a SaaS platform that enables B2B finance teams and the “Office of the CFO” to automate the critical order-to-cash process.Forward: Forward Financing are fintech company based in Boston who provide fast and flexible working capital to small businesses in the US that have been underserved by traditional financing options. Forward offers revenue-based financing and deliver an upfront sum of working capital in exchange for a set amount of the business’s future revenue.Stride: Stride are a Boston based outcomes-oriented fintech who offer flexible funding products such as Income Share Agreements and Deferred Tuition Agreements that supplement student loans. Stride and its founder have been recognized by Forbes, Harvard and MIT for their fintech innovations and social impact

It's time to celebrate the incredible women leading the way in AI! Nominate your inspiring leaders for VentureBeat’s Women in AI Awards today before June 18. Learn More. Solving the widening cybersecurity insurance gap that drives businesses away from purchasing or renewing policies needs to start with risk assessments based on AI-driven real-time insights. Cyber insurers are focused on helping clients reduce the probability of a breach by continually improving and augmenting cybersecurity strategies. Real-time risk assessments, underwriting improvements, streamlining claims processing, and resilience planning all need to be improved with AI delivering solid gains to each. “It’s reducing claims costs, which reduces insurance premiums. We can give better-preferred pricing and better coverage by ensuring they have good endpoint detection and response (EDR) in place. And that’s the hope to make it more accessible for these smaller organizations and just increase awareness overall