A report to the Cybersecurity (EX) Task Force explains the growth of cyber insurance to more than $2.49 billion in 2016 because “Cybersecurity breaches can cause a major drain on the U.S. economy”…and in particular “Financial Services Sector is perhaps the most under attack from cyber criminals.” The August 6, 2017 “Report on the Cybersecurity Insurance Coverage Supplement” was provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the Center for Insurance Policy and Research which included these details:
- Financial firms receive, maintain and store sensitive personal financial information from their customers.
- Cyber criminals are interested in this sensitive information as it can be used for financial gain by stealing a person’s identity for fraudulent purposes.
- We know from observation of the dark web that personal health information is much more valuable these days than personal financial information.
- Nation states are also known to sponsor cyber-attacks for espionage or gaining access to corporate trade secrets and business processes.
- A growing area of concern is ransomware used to extort payments from compromised firms.
No surprised in this report to the Cybersecurity (EX) Task Force!