Data breaches are becoming synonymous with the insurance industry, due to the vast amounts of sensitive, personal customer data insurers hold. Mounting pressure to switch to digital to better serve the needs of today’s fickle consumers and adhere to stricter data privacy regulations, means cybersecurity is now a key consideration for insurers.
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Only 20% of Insurance CEOs feel prepared for cyber attacks
“The average insurance company will face an average of 113 targeted breach attempts per year, in addition to millions of random attacks each week” – Not surprising considering the huge amount of sensitive consumer data insurers hold. A KPMG survey revealed that 42% of CEOs view cybersecurity as their “most pressing risk,” even trumping regulatory risks. And cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated with their attacks. Insurance organizations therefore can’t afford not to make cybersecurity a core priority. If you want to know more about the cybersecurity threats facing insurers, as well as how to mitigate them, you have an option in this article to download Sapien’s white paper: Insurers in the Crosshairs: Winning the War Against Hackers.
- Publisher: Sapiens
- Access: Public
- Download: White paper (registration required)
Insurance Industry Cybersecurity Issues
The insurance industry is under pressure to digitally transform in order to better compete with its fintech counterparts. Consumers are also driving the move to digital, in line with their expectations of real-time services and a great customer experience. However, the move to digital also brings with it the issue of cybersecurity. Many insurance organizations are turning to outsourcing to help them address the needs of their digitally savvy customers and cybersecurity issues. Regulatory pressure is also forcing compliance, and thus, more change. Read further to learn more about all the challenges currently faced by the insurance industry – each section concludes with a handy ‘call to action’, to help guide insurers accordingly.
- Publisher: Protiviti
- Access: Public
- Download: PDF document (optional)
The growing importance of cybersecurity in the insurance sector
Cybersecurity needs to be a priority for insurance companies. Not only to comply with new, strict data privacy regulations – such as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in Australia and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – but also to prove to customers that they are committed to protecting their sensitive, personal data. It is noted here that risk management is the core of any insurance business, yet (ironically) insurers are finding it a challenge managing their own risk when it comes to cyber threats. If you are an insurer, then read further to learn about the five key areas you need to focus on to address cyber risks. Namely: elevation, posture, communication, collaboration and planning.
- Publisher: Asia Pacific Security Magazine
- Access: Public
- Download: None
“Preventing cyber criminals from getting hold of sensitive, customer data is an ongoing battle and one which requires constant vigilance on the part of the insurers’ security teams.
Two of the most important fronts in this battle are documentation and communication. After all, so much of the information that insurers have on their customers resides in personal, confidential documents, such as bills, policies and claim forms that they send out. And documents can reside in multiple places, both within the organization and on customer devices”
Need help ensuring your insurance customer data is secure throughout the processing and distribution of communications?
Alison Treadaway
Vice President, Marketing, Striata, a Doxim Company
She joined the Striata in 2002, and served as Managing Director of the African region for 13 years. Prior to this, Alison’s experience in Internet-related solutions included marketing and sales positions at Internet Solutions and Dimension Data.
Alison has 24 years of experience in the ICT sector. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Languages, WITS) and a Post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration (WITS Business School).
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