Current Affairs
June 29, 2021
Hurricane Ready?
Chemical, resin plants may be hurricane-ready, but markets are not
ICIS, ICIS Pricing, Uncategorised By Jeremy Pafford on 29th June 2021 in ICIS, ICIS Pricing, Uncategorised SHARE THIS STORY
Forecasters of this year’s hurricane season expect above-normal activity, and so far that seems on point with the naming this week of the Atlantic’s fourth tropical system.
The active start also should bring to mind the precarious state commodity chemical markets and their participants find themselves in right now. Should the Texas-Louisiana coast not navigate through this hurricane season unscathed, the Q4 2021 and early 2022 marketplace could see unprecedented volatility – yes, even worse than was experienced following February’s Gulf Coast freeze – due to severe supply and demand disruptions. Market dynamics are not in a position to tolerate hurricane disruptions as they have in previous years.
Put another way: Chemical and resin plants may not be more susceptible than normal to hurricane damage right now, but the markets they serve are.
The National Weather Service estimates based on historical data that Texas and Louisiana’s odds each year of being affected (brushed by or hit) by a hurricane – a tropical system with sustained winds greater than 75 miles per hour — at 1-in-3. About 20% of that Texas-Louisiana coastline (particularly south of the Corpus Christi, Texas area) is not dotted with chemical plants or refineries, so factoring that out leads to almost a 1-in-4 chance each year that a hurricane will strike a section of the Gulf Coast key to the chemical and/or energy supply chain. That aligns with data analysis here regarding odds of cities such as Freeport, Texas; Galveston, Texas; and Cameron, Louisiana being affected a hurricane.
Chemical plant and refinery operators are accustomed to those risk odds and are adapted to the challenges operating in a hurricane-risk environment. Gulf Coast refineries, crackers and chemical derivative plant weather the situation via orderly shutdowns ahead of the storm, assessment of any damages after it passes and then making relatively quick repairs to get back into operation. Historically the plants were back up and running within a couple of weeks, although particularly devastating windstorms such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 led to multi-month outages. More recently, Hurricane Harvey in 2017 brought historic flooding to the Texas coast, while Louisiana in 2020 was subjected to five landfalling hurricanes. Refineries and chemical plant production were affected, but only for a short period – especially in comparison with winter weather events such as Winter Storm Uri’s arctic blast this past February.
As we have reached the soupy, sweaty summertime on the US Gulf Coast, there are no worries of another Uri coming through in the next couple of months. Hurricanes are a different matter, and the contention here is that should a major tropical weather event occur on the Texas-Louisiana coast this storm season, the net effect on chemical production and pricing would buck previous norms of short-term market blips and instead resemble what happened with February’s winter storm – or be worse. The reasons are threefold:
Logistics
The container shortage and dislocations, COVID-19 outbreaks at ports and the disjointed nature of the current ocean freight shipping environment have basically regionalised once global markets. A loss of production in the Gulf Coast due to a hurricane would not necessarily mean a cavalry of imports from Asia or Europe would be on the way to save the day – there may not be the ships or the product to do that, or the lead time in getting those imports over may be measured in months, not weeks.
Parts
As Al Greenwood explored excellently in his recent Insight article on ICIS News, repairing hurricane damage this season may not be as easy a task as in previous years due to manufacturing issues across supply chains and the disrupted logistics of moving needed parts. Such parts are not lying around on department store shelves. They need to be specially made, and that might be a problem being that backlogs of orders have reached a record high according to the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). In fact, backlogs for fabricated metal products and computer and electronic products all had their backlogs expand strongly in May, according to the ISM. Not a good sign if you need some petrochemical plant parts made on the fly. Thus, returns to operations could resemble more the 30-45 process seen with Winter Storm Uri than the 7-21 day process seen with typical Gulf Coast tropical weather over the last several years.
Markets at present
Current markets have no margin for error. Inventories are depleted due to the effects on production from February’s winter storm, last autumn’s hurricane strikes in Louisiana and plant shutdowns at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Meanwhile, demand for chemicals and resins has been strong, with consumer goods, construction and automotive sectors leading the way. Backlogs of orders are still being worked through, and getting to where inventories can be rebuilt is not expected until Q4. Every production unit matters right now, and an unexpected loss of several of them for an extended period would bring back February’s extreme supply tightness, with pricing momentum shooting skyward from a higher starting point than occurred with Uri.
The graph below from the ICIS Live Supply Disruption Tracker shows how unplanned outages from weather have left their marks on chemical markets in the last four years, with this particular chart focused on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) production.
A couple of conclusions can be made from the data:
- Winter weather tends to wreak more havoc for longer than hurricanes do. (A short-lived ice storm in January 2018 on the Gulf Coast had long-lasting issues for a couple of plants in particular).
- As historic of a storm as Hurricane Harvey was in 2017 with its flooding rains, Winter Storm Uri’s flood of below-freezing temperatures was far more pervasive in its production destruction.
The ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) basket of chemical prices for the US Gulf bears out the tenuous situation of the current market, as key materials such as paraxylene (PX), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have seen significant price inflation (they are just four of the 12 components of the IPEX, the methodology for which can be found here).
The US IPEX rose by 17.6% from February to May in large part due to the aftereffects of Uri-related production outages, which were pervasive and lasted 30-45 days for several plants. Those price increases were built on a foundation of several months’ worth of increases due to the resilient demand/tight supply seen amid the pandemic.
Should a hurricane cause significant damage to chemical plants on the Texas-Louisiana coast, the price shock could be enormous if repairs end up taking 30-45 days due to the challenges listed above. When February’s freeze hit, US spot propylene basically doubled overnight to then-shocking level of 125 cents/lb, or $2,756/tonne. For reference, the 10-year US spot propylene price average from 2011-2021 is just 49 cents/lb, or $1,080/tonne.
Spot propylene prices right now are in a range of 75-80 cents/lb. Double that and we are talking 150-160 cents/lb propylene – or up $3,527/tonne. Imagine the pricing effect and possible demand destruction that would cause for derivatives such as PP (used in automobiles and packaging), acrylic acid and acrylates (used in making paints, coatings and superabsorbent polymers for diapers) and propylene oxide (used in making polyols for polyurethanes, as well as in adhesive, paint and detergent formulations).
Chemical markets sit at a very dicey stage the COVID recovery. Make it through hurricane season without incident and the chemical industry has an excellent chance to balance supply and demand heading into 2022. But there is a legitimate chance a storm will knock the wind out of the market, and perhaps do much worse. Raw material scarcity and high-price volatility in chemical markets would have significant detrimental effects on supply chains and end products, adding fuel to mounting inflation fears and possibly even leading the way towards an economic downturn. It is not out of the realm of possibility.
In short, the chemical marketplace is not hurricane-ready. But while there is a 1-in-4 shot of a hurricane affecting a portion of the Texas-Louisiana coast home to chemical facilities, that also means there is a 3-in-4 chance of no hurricane effects at all. The market needs those odds to hold up.
June 22, 2021
Chinese Propylene Oxide Update
Propylene oxide: from a gap of 467,000 tons to self-sufficiency is just around the corner
Echemi 2021-06-21
1. The current situation of world supply and demand: Asia has the largest production capacity and the highest proportion of consumption
In 2020, the world’s propylene oxide (PO) production capacity will be approximately 11.2 million tons per year, of which Asian production capacity accounts for approximately 45% of the world’s total production capacity, which is the region with the largest production capacity in the world; Western Europe accounts for approximately 24%; North America accounts for approximately 22%.
In 2020, the world’s propylene oxide consumption will be approximately 9.3 million tons. In terms of regions, Asia is the region with the largest consumption of propylene oxide in the world, with an annual consumption of 4.48 million tons, accounting for 48% of the world’s total consumption; consumption in Western Europe is 2.21 million tons, accounting for 24%; consumption in North America The volume is 1.87 million tons, accounting for 20%.
The main application areas of propylene oxide in the world include polyether polyol (PPG), propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol and propylene glycol ether, etc. Among them, the largest consumption area is PPG, and there is little difference in consumption structure between regions. In 2020, the consumption of propylene oxide in this field is about 8.4 million tons, accounting for 75%; the consumption of propylene glycol to propylene oxide is about 1.55 million tons, accounting for 13.8%; the consumption of 1,4-butanediol to propylene oxide The volume is about 190,000 tons, accounting for 1.7%; the consumption of propylene oxide in other fields accounts for about 9.5%.
2. The status quo of domestic supply and demand: the gap between domestic supply and demand still exists
2.1. Production technology: traditional technology and advanced technology coexist
There are mainly 5 types of propylene oxide production process technologies, namely the traditional chlorohydrin method and the advanced co-oxidation method (propylene oxide/SM method, propylene oxide/TBA method), cumene oxidation method (CHP propylene oxide method) ), hydrogen peroxide oxidation method (HP propylene oxide method) and O2 direct oxidation method, of which chlorohydrin method and co-oxidation method are currently the most widely used technologies. In 2020, the chlorohydrin method will account for about 50% of the domestic propylene oxide production capacity, and the rest will be the co-oxidation method, HP propylene oxide method and CHP method.
2.2. Manufacturers: Centralized production capacity in East China
In 2020, there will be a total of 19 domestic propylene oxide producers (see Table 2 for details), of which 13 are located in Eastern China, and their production capacity will account for 69.3% of the country’s total production capacity. The province with the largest number of production companies is Shandong Province, with propylene oxide production capacity accounting for 47.2% of the national production capacity.
At present, domestic chlorohydrin propylene oxide production enterprises are mainly located in Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. The production cost of chlorohydrin propylene oxide is low, but the pollution problem limits the further development of this technology. Since 2014, Shandong has strictly restricted indicators such as COD discharge of industrial wastewater, and some chlorohydrin companies can only seek to relocate or suspend production.
Among the 4 companies using co-oxidation technology, Zhenli Chemical and CNOOC Shell used propylene oxide/SM technology, and the technologies were from Lyonder and Shell; Yantai Wanhua and Jinling Huntsman used propylene oxide/ MTBE technology, technology comes from Huntsman. Among the enterprises using HP propylene oxide process, Sinopec Changling’s 100,000-ton/year demonstration device is Sinopec’s own technology.
2.3. Consumer sector: Polyether polyol is the largest consumer sector
In 2020, China’s propylene oxide consumption will be about 2.99 million tons. The consumption is mainly concentrated in the fields of polyether polyols, propylene glycol and propylene glycol ethers. Among them, the consumption of polyether polyols accounts for 70%.
2.4. Supply-demand relationship: the gap between supply and demand still exists
In 2020, my country’s propylene oxide production capacity will be 3.29 million tons per year. Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the average operating rate of the installations will be 77%, and the output will drop by 330,000 tons year-on-year. In the same year, the domestic consumption of propylene oxide was 2.99 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. In 2020, the supply and demand gap of propylene oxide in my country is 467,000 tons. The supply and demand situation of my country’s propylene oxide from 2015 to 2020 is shown in Figure 2.
3. Domestic outlook: Production capacity is steadily increasing, and propylene oxide is expected to become self-sufficient in the future
3.1. Supply forecast: There are more new capacity, mainly HP propylene oxide method and propylene oxide/SM method
According to statistics, there are 24 propylene oxide projects under construction in China, with a total production capacity of approximately 6.15 million tons per year. The projects are mainly distributed in East China, South China and North China. The “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog” (2019) clearly proposes to “eliminate serious environmental pollution chlorohydrin production of propylene oxide technology”, so the proposed projects mainly adopt HP propylene oxide method and propylene oxide/SM method. .
Regardless of the elimination of the existing chlorohydrin process equipment, it is estimated that by 2025, the domestic production capacity of propylene oxide will reach 9.43 million tons per year. See Table 3 for details of my country’s propylene oxide projects under construction.
3.2. Consumption forecast: In the future, domestic consumption will still be dominated by polyether polyols
It is predicted that the domestic consumption of propylene oxide will continue to grow in the future, and the consumption will reach 4.05 million tons by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 6.3% from 2020 to 2025.
Among the main downstream polyether polyols of propylene oxide, the production of basic soft and rigid foam polyethers is large, and it is expected that the future support for the consumption of propylene oxide will still be relatively large. In order to increase the added value of products, many polyether factories are undergoing structural transformation, increasing the development of high-activity, high-molecular-weight, and high-value-added polyethers. In recent years, the production capacity of POP and high-resilience polyethers has increased significantly, but the consumption of propylene oxide in the short term The amount will still be lower than the base polyether. my country currently has 18 new planned polyether polyol projects with a total production capacity of 2.97 million tons per year. If these projects are successfully put into production, it is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide will reach about 2.8 million tons.
Propylene glycol is mainly used to produce unsaturated resins. In 2020, affected by the global epidemic, consumption in this field has dropped by 6.7% year-on-year. It is expected that consumption will gradually recover in the next 5 years. It is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide in this field It will be around 450,000 tons.
Propylene glycol ether is the third largest consumption area of propylene oxide. It is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide in this area will be around 220,000 tons.
Propylene oxide accounts for a small proportion of the consumption of other downstream chemical products. In addition, flame retardants, cellulose and other products are affected by environmental governance inspections and are under-operated. In the future, the consumption of propylene oxide may show a downward trend.
3.2. Supply-demand relationship: a substantial increase in production capacity, self-sufficiency is just around the corner
With the completion and commissioning of new domestic propylene oxide projects, it is estimated that my country’s propylene oxide production capacity will reach 9.43 million tons per year in 2025, and the output will increase substantially. In terms of demand, driven by the fields of polyether polyol and propylene glycol, my country’s propylene oxide demand will reach 4.05 million tons in 2025, and my country’s propylene oxide will be self-sufficient.
4. Development suggestions
1. Domestic propylene oxide is in a rapid development stage, and the newly-built production capacity is mainly based on HP propylene oxide process and propylene oxide/SM process. With the completion and commissioning of the proposed projects under construction, my country’s propylene oxide production capacity is expected to meet domestic demand, and it is rich. The traditional chlorohydrin process will gradually be phased out. The industry needs to pay attention to the risk of overcapacity.
2. The domestic propylene oxide consumer market will continue to be concentrated in the East China market, dominated by Jiangsu and Shandong. The consumer areas are mainly downstream industries such as polyether polyols, propylene glycol and propylene glycol ethers. When companies deploy propylene oxide, they should also plan downstream products to reduce sales pressure.
June 22, 2021
Chinese Propylene Oxide Update
Propylene oxide: from a gap of 467,000 tons to self-sufficiency is just around the corner
Echemi 2021-06-21
1. The current situation of world supply and demand: Asia has the largest production capacity and the highest proportion of consumption
In 2020, the world’s propylene oxide (PO) production capacity will be approximately 11.2 million tons per year, of which Asian production capacity accounts for approximately 45% of the world’s total production capacity, which is the region with the largest production capacity in the world; Western Europe accounts for approximately 24%; North America accounts for approximately 22%.
In 2020, the world’s propylene oxide consumption will be approximately 9.3 million tons. In terms of regions, Asia is the region with the largest consumption of propylene oxide in the world, with an annual consumption of 4.48 million tons, accounting for 48% of the world’s total consumption; consumption in Western Europe is 2.21 million tons, accounting for 24%; consumption in North America The volume is 1.87 million tons, accounting for 20%.
The main application areas of propylene oxide in the world include polyether polyol (PPG), propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol and propylene glycol ether, etc. Among them, the largest consumption area is PPG, and there is little difference in consumption structure between regions. In 2020, the consumption of propylene oxide in this field is about 8.4 million tons, accounting for 75%; the consumption of propylene glycol to propylene oxide is about 1.55 million tons, accounting for 13.8%; the consumption of 1,4-butanediol to propylene oxide The volume is about 190,000 tons, accounting for 1.7%; the consumption of propylene oxide in other fields accounts for about 9.5%.
2. The status quo of domestic supply and demand: the gap between domestic supply and demand still exists
2.1. Production technology: traditional technology and advanced technology coexist
There are mainly 5 types of propylene oxide production process technologies, namely the traditional chlorohydrin method and the advanced co-oxidation method (propylene oxide/SM method, propylene oxide/TBA method), cumene oxidation method (CHP propylene oxide method) ), hydrogen peroxide oxidation method (HP propylene oxide method) and O2 direct oxidation method, of which chlorohydrin method and co-oxidation method are currently the most widely used technologies. In 2020, the chlorohydrin method will account for about 50% of the domestic propylene oxide production capacity, and the rest will be the co-oxidation method, HP propylene oxide method and CHP method.
2.2. Manufacturers: Centralized production capacity in East China
In 2020, there will be a total of 19 domestic propylene oxide producers (see Table 2 for details), of which 13 are located in Eastern China, and their production capacity will account for 69.3% of the country’s total production capacity. The province with the largest number of production companies is Shandong Province, with propylene oxide production capacity accounting for 47.2% of the national production capacity.
At present, domestic chlorohydrin propylene oxide production enterprises are mainly located in Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. The production cost of chlorohydrin propylene oxide is low, but the pollution problem limits the further development of this technology. Since 2014, Shandong has strictly restricted indicators such as COD discharge of industrial wastewater, and some chlorohydrin companies can only seek to relocate or suspend production.
Among the 4 companies using co-oxidation technology, Zhenli Chemical and CNOOC Shell used propylene oxide/SM technology, and the technologies were from Lyonder and Shell; Yantai Wanhua and Jinling Huntsman used propylene oxide/ MTBE technology, technology comes from Huntsman. Among the enterprises using HP propylene oxide process, Sinopec Changling’s 100,000-ton/year demonstration device is Sinopec’s own technology.
2.3. Consumer sector: Polyether polyol is the largest consumer sector
In 2020, China’s propylene oxide consumption will be about 2.99 million tons. The consumption is mainly concentrated in the fields of polyether polyols, propylene glycol and propylene glycol ethers. Among them, the consumption of polyether polyols accounts for 70%.
2.4. Supply-demand relationship: the gap between supply and demand still exists
In 2020, my country’s propylene oxide production capacity will be 3.29 million tons per year. Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the average operating rate of the installations will be 77%, and the output will drop by 330,000 tons year-on-year. In the same year, the domestic consumption of propylene oxide was 2.99 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. In 2020, the supply and demand gap of propylene oxide in my country is 467,000 tons. The supply and demand situation of my country’s propylene oxide from 2015 to 2020 is shown in Figure 2.
3. Domestic outlook: Production capacity is steadily increasing, and propylene oxide is expected to become self-sufficient in the future
3.1. Supply forecast: There are more new capacity, mainly HP propylene oxide method and propylene oxide/SM method
According to statistics, there are 24 propylene oxide projects under construction in China, with a total production capacity of approximately 6.15 million tons per year. The projects are mainly distributed in East China, South China and North China. The “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog” (2019) clearly proposes to “eliminate serious environmental pollution chlorohydrin production of propylene oxide technology”, so the proposed projects mainly adopt HP propylene oxide method and propylene oxide/SM method. .
Regardless of the elimination of the existing chlorohydrin process equipment, it is estimated that by 2025, the domestic production capacity of propylene oxide will reach 9.43 million tons per year. See Table 3 for details of my country’s propylene oxide projects under construction.
3.2. Consumption forecast: In the future, domestic consumption will still be dominated by polyether polyols
It is predicted that the domestic consumption of propylene oxide will continue to grow in the future, and the consumption will reach 4.05 million tons by 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 6.3% from 2020 to 2025.
Among the main downstream polyether polyols of propylene oxide, the production of basic soft and rigid foam polyethers is large, and it is expected that the future support for the consumption of propylene oxide will still be relatively large. In order to increase the added value of products, many polyether factories are undergoing structural transformation, increasing the development of high-activity, high-molecular-weight, and high-value-added polyethers. In recent years, the production capacity of POP and high-resilience polyethers has increased significantly, but the consumption of propylene oxide in the short term The amount will still be lower than the base polyether. my country currently has 18 new planned polyether polyol projects with a total production capacity of 2.97 million tons per year. If these projects are successfully put into production, it is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide will reach about 2.8 million tons.
Propylene glycol is mainly used to produce unsaturated resins. In 2020, affected by the global epidemic, consumption in this field has dropped by 6.7% year-on-year. It is expected that consumption will gradually recover in the next 5 years. It is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide in this field It will be around 450,000 tons.
Propylene glycol ether is the third largest consumption area of propylene oxide. It is estimated that by 2025, the consumption of propylene oxide in this area will be around 220,000 tons.
Propylene oxide accounts for a small proportion of the consumption of other downstream chemical products. In addition, flame retardants, cellulose and other products are affected by environmental governance inspections and are under-operated. In the future, the consumption of propylene oxide may show a downward trend.
3.2. Supply-demand relationship: a substantial increase in production capacity, self-sufficiency is just around the corner
With the completion and commissioning of new domestic propylene oxide projects, it is estimated that my country’s propylene oxide production capacity will reach 9.43 million tons per year in 2025, and the output will increase substantially. In terms of demand, driven by the fields of polyether polyol and propylene glycol, my country’s propylene oxide demand will reach 4.05 million tons in 2025, and my country’s propylene oxide will be self-sufficient.
4. Development suggestions
1. Domestic propylene oxide is in a rapid development stage, and the newly-built production capacity is mainly based on HP propylene oxide process and propylene oxide/SM process. With the completion and commissioning of the proposed projects under construction, my country’s propylene oxide production capacity is expected to meet domestic demand, and it is rich. The traditional chlorohydrin process will gradually be phased out. The industry needs to pay attention to the risk of overcapacity.
2. The domestic propylene oxide consumer market will continue to be concentrated in the East China market, dominated by Jiangsu and Shandong. The consumer areas are mainly downstream industries such as polyether polyols, propylene glycol and propylene glycol ethers. When companies deploy propylene oxide, they should also plan downstream products to reduce sales pressure.
June 21, 2021
Ransomware Protection
Why you should never open unknown emails: Fighting ransomware attackers
Users — human beings — are the weakest link in even the ‘safest’ network
Published: June 20, 2021 19:30 Jay Hilotin, Senior Assistant Editor
Highlights
- Why ransomware attacks are spiking amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Know the top tips to avoid falling victim to darkweb attacks
- Know the dos and don’t of safe email practices.
Dubai: You think your network is “bomb-proof”? Or your organisation’s digital assets are “safe”? Think again. No matter how airtight you think work or organisation’s network is, there’s always a way in for the most persistent intruders. From the hackers’ point of view, we — the end users — are the best route of an hack. And this time, those who work from home are prized targets.
What’s the link between ransomware and pandemic?
Make no mistake: We are still in the midst of a health pandemic. And we’re also still in the midst of a digital pandemic of ransomware attacks. These are organised, deliberate attacks on increasingly significant targets. There are signs people and businesses are facing a chronic failure in finding ways to keep them at bay.
Why are ransomware attacks on the rise?
Ransomware attacks have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, say IT security professionals. “There’s one simple reason: More people are working away from the office, where security controls are comparatively weak,” said Anoop Kumar Pauval, Information Security Manager at Gulf News’ IT Department.
“At home, connected to work via remote data access, end-users tend to be less protected, and are more vulnerable,” Pauval added. He cited example, Check Point Research’s (CPR) latest report (published in May) found a 102% increase in ransomware attacks this 2021 compared to the beginning of 2020. “There are no signs of the attacks slowing down.”
What’s the usual route of a ransomware attack?
Most ransomware attacks exploit the vulnerabilities of employees to get through to organisation’s network. Most hacks are done this way, called “social engineering” attacks.
How do links pose a threat?
Emails are the most potent tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals. It comes int he form of a link or an attachment. If you open an unknown attachment or click a link in an email sent to you by a hacker, you’re roped in.
How can you tell the difference between legit email and hacker’s email?
There are email senders among people you know. They tend to be safer, but that’s not to say you shouldn’t exercise caution (especially with forwards). Some spams are obvious, but others are very smartly designed get past past the filters. They’re done by deception masters designed to dupe recipients. “Phishing” email is No. 1 way hackers get around firewalls, filters and antivirus.
Should I always trust emails from a friend or colleague?
No, even if it’s from a friend or colleague, take a pause before clicking anything further. Check the contents of the message they send along with it: Does it sound like it’s from them? A smarter way to avoid malware or phishing is to call the sender or speak in person, if possible, to confirm they sent the email. If you can’t be sure of its authenticity, simply delete.
Top 5 biggest ransomeware payouts:
1. CWT Global ($4.5 million) | Date: July 2020 | The US travel services company CWT Global set a world record for the largest ever ransom payment, after it handed over $4.5 million in bitcoin to the Ragnar Locker ransomware gang. The attack is believed to have taken down 30,000 computers and compromised two terabytes of data. Financial records, security documentation and employees’ personal details, such as email addresses and salary data, were all affected. Image Credit: View gallery as list 1/5
Why are ransomware very disruptive?
The threat is real, as can be seen by recent examples. There’s often a financial motive involved. The demands are also real, too. But the damage to operations can destroy an institution or organisation’s reputation.
How much is the average ransomeware payment?
As we’ve seen, attacks capturing an organisation’s data and systems are on the rise. One study shows that since the start of the pandemic, ransomware attacks have gone up by almost 500%.
The average ransom payment has also continued to climb, up 43% from the last quarter of 2020 to an average of over $200,000, according to one report.
$200,000
the average ransomware payout during Q1 2021
Worse, a ransom demand is often accompanied by a breach and extraction of company data — and a concurrent extortion threatening to release this data unless additional payments are made.
News about attacks against the CNA Financial and Colonial Pipelines are recent publicly-known examples of hacking events. There’s a much bigger section involving unknown pay-offs for which the victims never publicly declare the hack.
Who are the perpetrators?
They are evolving, from the stand-alone hackers to what are now known as “criminal collectives”, including the DarkSide, which behave like state-sponsored attackers. These collectives have created virtual organisations, sharpening their techniques in targeting specific sectors and companies. They patiently wait for the kills.
How big is the ‘cybercrime’ threat?
What’s the away around scams, spams and ransomware attacks.
It’s the dark underbelly of the online world. Cybercrime is a growing, highly successful and profitable “industry”. It is estimated that cybercrime costs will grow by 15% per year to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025. If it’s a country, it would be the world’s third-biggest “economy” — after those of the US States and China.
What’s the way around ransomware attacks?
Image when governments, health-care providers, online merchants like Amazon/ebay/Alibaba or other large organisations become beholden to cybercriminals? There’s certainly a way around the current state of affairs.
Intranets — closed, proprietary networks — might hold the key, say experts. As the internet evolves, a new trend emerges, with two distinct sides.
- Free-for-all internet:
This is the free-for-all, unfiltered, minimally regulated, “Wild West” type of internet anyone can access. This is the playground of the rising ranks of cybercriminals and everybody else, including you and me.
- Intranet
The second is “World Wide Intranet” — widely accessible but tightly controlled websites with stringent access controls to prevent criminal activity. Years ago, closed corporate intranets have gained popularity. This second type is rapidly evolving.
As such, as security measures and conditional access via multi-factor authentification will become a standard.
The internet needs a semblance of control — the price of not having them is immeasurably greater than the damage of any “restrictions”. It’s an inevitable outcome of the security threats mushrooming around us, compromising not only networks but individual the end users that use them.
June 21, 2021
Ransomware Protection
Why you should never open unknown emails: Fighting ransomware attackers
Users — human beings — are the weakest link in even the ‘safest’ network
Published: June 20, 2021 19:30 Jay Hilotin, Senior Assistant Editor
Highlights
- Why ransomware attacks are spiking amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Know the top tips to avoid falling victim to darkweb attacks
- Know the dos and don’t of safe email practices.
Dubai: You think your network is “bomb-proof”? Or your organisation’s digital assets are “safe”? Think again. No matter how airtight you think work or organisation’s network is, there’s always a way in for the most persistent intruders. From the hackers’ point of view, we — the end users — are the best route of an hack. And this time, those who work from home are prized targets.
What’s the link between ransomware and pandemic?
Make no mistake: We are still in the midst of a health pandemic. And we’re also still in the midst of a digital pandemic of ransomware attacks. These are organised, deliberate attacks on increasingly significant targets. There are signs people and businesses are facing a chronic failure in finding ways to keep them at bay.
Why are ransomware attacks on the rise?
Ransomware attacks have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, say IT security professionals. “There’s one simple reason: More people are working away from the office, where security controls are comparatively weak,” said Anoop Kumar Pauval, Information Security Manager at Gulf News’ IT Department.
“At home, connected to work via remote data access, end-users tend to be less protected, and are more vulnerable,” Pauval added. He cited example, Check Point Research’s (CPR) latest report (published in May) found a 102% increase in ransomware attacks this 2021 compared to the beginning of 2020. “There are no signs of the attacks slowing down.”
What’s the usual route of a ransomware attack?
Most ransomware attacks exploit the vulnerabilities of employees to get through to organisation’s network. Most hacks are done this way, called “social engineering” attacks.
How do links pose a threat?
Emails are the most potent tools in the arsenal of cybercriminals. It comes int he form of a link or an attachment. If you open an unknown attachment or click a link in an email sent to you by a hacker, you’re roped in.
How can you tell the difference between legit email and hacker’s email?
There are email senders among people you know. They tend to be safer, but that’s not to say you shouldn’t exercise caution (especially with forwards). Some spams are obvious, but others are very smartly designed get past past the filters. They’re done by deception masters designed to dupe recipients. “Phishing” email is No. 1 way hackers get around firewalls, filters and antivirus.
Should I always trust emails from a friend or colleague?
No, even if it’s from a friend or colleague, take a pause before clicking anything further. Check the contents of the message they send along with it: Does it sound like it’s from them? A smarter way to avoid malware or phishing is to call the sender or speak in person, if possible, to confirm they sent the email. If you can’t be sure of its authenticity, simply delete.
Top 5 biggest ransomeware payouts:
1. CWT Global ($4.5 million) | Date: July 2020 | The US travel services company CWT Global set a world record for the largest ever ransom payment, after it handed over $4.5 million in bitcoin to the Ragnar Locker ransomware gang. The attack is believed to have taken down 30,000 computers and compromised two terabytes of data. Financial records, security documentation and employees’ personal details, such as email addresses and salary data, were all affected. Image Credit: View gallery as list 1/5
Why are ransomware very disruptive?
The threat is real, as can be seen by recent examples. There’s often a financial motive involved. The demands are also real, too. But the damage to operations can destroy an institution or organisation’s reputation.
How much is the average ransomeware payment?
As we’ve seen, attacks capturing an organisation’s data and systems are on the rise. One study shows that since the start of the pandemic, ransomware attacks have gone up by almost 500%.
The average ransom payment has also continued to climb, up 43% from the last quarter of 2020 to an average of over $200,000, according to one report.
$200,000
the average ransomware payout during Q1 2021
Worse, a ransom demand is often accompanied by a breach and extraction of company data — and a concurrent extortion threatening to release this data unless additional payments are made.
News about attacks against the CNA Financial and Colonial Pipelines are recent publicly-known examples of hacking events. There’s a much bigger section involving unknown pay-offs for which the victims never publicly declare the hack.
Who are the perpetrators?
They are evolving, from the stand-alone hackers to what are now known as “criminal collectives”, including the DarkSide, which behave like state-sponsored attackers. These collectives have created virtual organisations, sharpening their techniques in targeting specific sectors and companies. They patiently wait for the kills.
How big is the ‘cybercrime’ threat?
What’s the away around scams, spams and ransomware attacks.
It’s the dark underbelly of the online world. Cybercrime is a growing, highly successful and profitable “industry”. It is estimated that cybercrime costs will grow by 15% per year to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025. If it’s a country, it would be the world’s third-biggest “economy” — after those of the US States and China.
What’s the way around ransomware attacks?
Image when governments, health-care providers, online merchants like Amazon/ebay/Alibaba or other large organisations become beholden to cybercriminals? There’s certainly a way around the current state of affairs.
Intranets — closed, proprietary networks — might hold the key, say experts. As the internet evolves, a new trend emerges, with two distinct sides.
- Free-for-all internet:
This is the free-for-all, unfiltered, minimally regulated, “Wild West” type of internet anyone can access. This is the playground of the rising ranks of cybercriminals and everybody else, including you and me.
- Intranet
The second is “World Wide Intranet” — widely accessible but tightly controlled websites with stringent access controls to prevent criminal activity. Years ago, closed corporate intranets have gained popularity. This second type is rapidly evolving.
As such, as security measures and conditional access via multi-factor authentification will become a standard.
The internet needs a semblance of control — the price of not having them is immeasurably greater than the damage of any “restrictions”. It’s an inevitable outcome of the security threats mushrooming around us, compromising not only networks but individual the end users that use them.
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