Cyber
Attacks - Not if.. but when
- Do you know where your coverage is coming from?
National
Intelligence Warning
In
light of recent events both nationally and internationally, there is
increased awareness of the changing threat environment to our business
communities and infrastructure from cyber-attacks. On 2/3/10, the US Director of
National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, acknowledged that perhaps we do
not ”understand as seriously as we
should… the extent of malicious cyber activity that grows,
that is growing now at unprecedented rates, ...the technological
balance… favors those who want to use the Internet for
malicious purposes over those who want to use it for legal and lawful
purposes."
So What?
Simply put, if you have
not suffered a
loss or inconvenience from a successful attack, you will. Your IT
manager may say that it's not likely. The attack may not specifically
target your business. It is predicted that
“…large-scale cyber attacks could massively
disable or hurt international financial, commercial and physical
infrastructure… crippling the movement of people and goods
around the world and bring vital social and economic programs to a
halt.” The skills of those that do harm or profit from
illegal activities are improving much faster than the persons whose job
it is to protect operations and property.
Our Role as your
Risk Manager
We
assume the unfortunate role of “Chicken Little” and
suggest that the “sky is falling” in
order to create awareness for issues that are often ignored. The facts
causing the alarm are real and revealing. According to a study by the Center
for Strategic Studies recently
presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the cost
from cyber attacks just in system down time alone averages
“$6.3MM/day” per attack. And the risk of cyber
attack is increasing, with nearly 40% of technology executives in the
same study expecting a “major
incident causing an outage of at least 24 hours, loss of life
or…failure
of a company within the next
year. 80% believe that it will happen in the next five years”.
Preparation is Key!
We
are available to assist our clients and prospects in understanding how
to prepare
themselves for this exposure.
Preparation is key to sustaining your
business.
E-Commerce insurance is one of the more overlooked coverages available.
Many
believe they are appropriately protected by their current commercial
insurance program but this assumption is almost always not true.
With budget cuts and IT security staffs being reduced, support in the
form of sound insurance coverage makes good business sense. If you
decide to not purchase the coverage, going through a risk analysis of
your IT infrastructure will be invaluable.
awareness of the changing threat environment to our business
communities and infrastructure from cyber-attacks. On 2/3/10, the US Director of
National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, acknowledged that perhaps we do
not ”understand as seriously as we
should… the extent of malicious cyber activity that grows,
that is growing now at unprecedented rates, ...the technological
balance… favors those who want to use the Internet for
malicious purposes over those who want to use it for legal and lawful
purposes."
