Cyber Threats: Countermeasures & Controls

Published on January 14, 2022
Last modified on August 3, 2023
Cyber Threats, Countermeasures and Controls

While cyber crime 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.

Today’s business owners 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 that 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 back ups for effective recovery of breached data
  • Continuous monitoring software to help analyze network vulnerabilities
  • Cyber incident response planning and testing

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The GUARD Wire is designed to provide general information about various topics of interest and should NOT replace the guidance, advice, or recommendations from licensed insurance or legal professionals, other industry experts, or state and federal authorities.