Your peers have spoken: there are a number of cyber security trends and threats that concerned them in 2015—all of which should be on your radar, too.
We’ve compiled the highlights from a survey released this year by the Hartford Steam Boiler(HSB) to give you a glimpse into what risk managers across the country are currently facing.
Who Was Surveyed?
More than 50 percent of the risk managers polled by HSB work at large corporations, while 30 percent work for mid-sized companies, and less than 10 percent work for small businesses. Only 30 percent of the risk managers surveyed were lucky enough to not have a hacking incident or scare this year—the rest experienced anywhere between one to 15-plus incidents this year alone.
The Key Findings:
“More than half (55 percent) don’t believe their company is dedicating enough money or trained and experienced personnel to combat the latest hacking techniques.”
Kroll Takeaway:
Hackers are always improving their methods and are constantly trying new angles to break into a company’s data. Risk managers know that their company must be on high alert, but it sounds like they’re not getting the resources they want to provide the protection they believe their company needs.
“The survey revealed a notable exposure and concern with the use of cloud technology. Loss of confidentiality of information is viewed as the biggest risk (76 percent), followed by service interruption (16 percent) and government intrusion (5 percent).”
Kroll Takeaway:
Many companies use cloud technology services to store data. Using a third party for data storage creates an imperative to make sure the provider is up to the task – due diligence on your service provider is a must. Further, make sure you are contractually protected by having legal counsel familiar with cyber security issues review the contracts before doing business with cloud storage companies.
“Concerns about the type of information being breached ranged from personally identifiable information (53 percent) to sensitive corporate information (33 percent) to financial information (14 percent).”
Kroll Takeaway:
A breach of customer or employee personal data can have huge consequences on your company’s reputation and brand. If you’re looking to increase the level of security for sensitive data, there are plenty of ways we can assist you with your goals.
“When asked about the type of risk management services they would be most interested in deploying to combat cyber risk, risk managers point to intrusion detection/penetration testing (32 percent), employee education programs (25 percent) and encryption (25 percent).”
Kroll Takeaway:
These are major concerns that every company should be focusing on in 2015 and beyond. We offer services that can assist with assessing all of this and more.
“For additional protection, 46 percent say their business has either purchased cyber insurance for the first time or increased its level of coverage in the last year. Thirty-six percent of businesses do not have any level of cyber insurance coverage.”
Kroll Takeaway:
There’s no doubt that cyber insurance is important for any business to consider as part of its risk mitigation strategy. If you’re looking for talking points on why you need cyber insurance and why it’s vital to have a pre-existing relationship with a cyber firm, then check out our article D&O Liability in Data Privacy and Cyber Security Situations in the US.
According to Eric Cernak, Cyber Practice Leader for Munich Re, “Businesses are on high alert, but they can do a lot better. Simply reacting to new threats is not enough. Businesses of all sizes need to anticipate hacking trends and deploy the resources necessary to protect their private or sensitive information.” We completely agree.
Prevention and having a constant and dynamic defense is your best bet to keeping your company’s assets protected. Whether you need to get the buy-in of your executive team for more resources or if you’re ready to put programs into place to reduce your company’s cyber security risk profile, we are here to help.
*Cyber rel="noopener noreferrer" Risk Survey, HSB Study Shows 69 Percent of Businesses Experienced Hacking Incidents in the Last Year, June 03, 2015
