CYBER RISK

Cyber Risk

Perhaps the fastest growing exposure facing organizations to are cyber risks today. The number and magnitude of system breaches reported in the news are staggering, and no industry is immune. Whether healthcare or retail, financial services or professional services, or even non-profit organizations, the risk is ever increasing. The December 2018 Ponemon-Tenable Study (https://www.tenable.com/cyber-exposure/ponemon-cyber-risk-report#download or see Resources section for a copy) reports that over 60% of responding entities have had at least two business disrupting cyber events in the last 24 months.

With the exponential increase of Cyber Breaches year after year across the country and across the globe, the risks associated with your customer's and employee’s data cannot be ignored. The costs to respond to or manage a data breach can cripple or destroy a company. Impacts such as reputational harm, business interruption, extortion, legal exposure, and loss of critical data must be addressed proactively and by many departments within an organization.

Additionally, while not technically a cyber breach, the level of sophistication being experienced in Social Engineering Fraud is staggering. Many Crime insurance policies do not respond to Social Engineering fraud as the funds have not been stolen but have been “voluntarily” wire transferred by an authorized individual. While limited coverage is now available, usually through a Crime insurance policy, the best protection is usually the result of internal controls and procedures.

The responsibility for the proper management of cyber risk mitigation is multi-departmental and needs to be a team effort – it no longer falls exclusively on the IT department. The Board, C-suite, Risk Management department, IT department, and others to greatly reduce the chances of a breach, as well as decrease the effective cost of a breach.

For assistance in reviewing your organization’s Cyber exposure and for assistance in developing the specifications and coordinating the marketing of a Cyber or Social Engineering Fraud insurance program, please contact Strategic Risk Advisors.