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Cyber Threat: COUNTERMEASURES & CONTROLS

Cyber Security Concept

While cybercrime was already on the rise pre-COVID, the pandemic and accompanying shift to virtual working/learning accelerated most of the world’s exposure. The insurance industry suffered financially as a surge in ransomware incidents, repair of hacked networks, business interruption losses, and even public relations fees to mend reputational damage erupted.

The result has been double-digit rate increases in cyber coverage with scarcity at issue as well. Expectedly, some insurers will not even entertain a cyber policy unless various countermeasures are met.

In 2022, businesses using technology platforms need to understand:

  • The magnitude of risk within the virtual environment;
  • The importance of adequate insurance for their particular network; and
  • The advantage of investing in cyber countermeasures and corporate governance.

While we offer some measures here, we highly recommend consulting with a cyber security expert for further explanation, help with implementation, and ongoing assessment as both technology and the level and type of threats evolve.

CYBER SECURITY CONTROLS

  • Education, awareness, training, and testing; people are always the first line of defense against cyber attacks
  • Multi-factor authentication requires at least two pieces of identification for user access to company systems
  • Email filtering to identify and block malicious emails and attachments
  • Web security to block access to potentially dangerous sites
  • Privileges that allow/restrict levels of system access based on job roles and responsibilities
  • Vendor and digital supply chain access portals
  • Secured, encrypted, and tested backups for effective recovery of breached data
  • Continuous monitoring software to help analyze network vulnerabilities
  • Cyber incident response planning and testing

The information contained herein is not all-inclusive but intended to provide a general overview for marketing purposes and should not replace the guidance, advice, or recommendations from licensed insurance or legal professionals or other industry experts. All state and federal rules/regulations apply. © January 2022.

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