Are companies leaving themselves vulnerable to a cyber attack?
Towers Watson, a leading consulting firm with expertise in risk assessment, has released its annual review of corporate risk this week. The firm surveyed several corporations throughout North America and found that most do not take cyber security seriously, especially in terms of insurance coverage. The firm has also found that the corporations purchasing cyber security insurance are doing so in limited capacity and seem unwilling to purchase comprehensive coverage. This may be a problem in a world where the Internet and digital information are playing bigger and more important roles.
According to the firm’s survey, three in four corporations are not purchasing insurance policies that protect against data breaches and other damages that can be caused by hackers. Furthermore, the policies that these companies are purchasing provide little protection against potential attacks. The survey notes that interest in cyber insurance is somewhat high, but this interest is, somehow, not translating into business practice. The survey shows that 72% of the 153 participating corporations have not purchased this type of insurance coverage.
Major coporations have left themselves open without cyber insurance…
Last year, two major attacks against Sony and Citigroup caused millions in insured losses for both companies. The total impact of the attacks are not fully known because the information of thousands of customers was stolen during the data breach. This information could have been used to access the finances of consumers, which would have compounded the total cost of the attacks. In the wake of these high-profile data breaches, many companies began to show rampant interest in cyber insurance. Towers Watson notes that this trend continues, but few companies are taking the importance of proper security seriously.
The reasons behind the lack of cyber insurance are unclear.
Towers Watson speculates that one of the reasons could be misrepresentation of the importance the digital world has in the realm of business. Another possibility could be that companies have a great deal of confidence in their own security measures and believe themselves to be immune to hacking attempts. Whatever the case may be, Towers Watson notes that this year’s results differ only slightly from the firm’s findings last year.
Article: North American companies avoiding cyber insurance according to Towers Watson
Article Source: Live Insurance News – Towers Watson
Author: Marc Christopherson