Establishing proactive cyber defence for insurance companies
What you need to consider when building a strategy for the insurance sector
Combatting targeted attacks with defence-grade security for
energy & utilities
How to manage cyber risks with defence-grade security for the energy & utilities sector
Threat actors in cyberspace are becoming more advanced and frequent, and in the meantime, the attacks on high-profile targets—from financial institutions and healthcare facilities to non-profit organisations—are also increasing.
Think of the Sandworm attack that targeted the Ukrainian power grid in 2014—it highlights the need for defence-grade security for the energy & utilities sector to protect against cybersecurity risks.
The utility sector provides some of the most critical services that the general public depends heavily on, and therefore, any attack that damages the critical infrastructure or disrupts these services needs an immediate response.
The last two years recorded significant growth in cyberattacks on insurance companies, especially as the sector migrated towards digital channels to provide more improved services.
While digital technologies ensure better customer relationships and sophisticated services, it’s also making matters easier for cyber-attackers to infiltrate company systems via online channels.
Ensuring proactive cyber defence for insurance companies—what steps need to be taken?
As the threat surface expands, a proactive cyber defence strategy for insurance companies is becoming essential. For insurance companies aiming to build or upgrade their cyber defence strategy, a thorough understanding of their current defence capabilities and vulnerabilities is needed.
Assess your defence capabilities
The first step to ensuring proactive cyber defence for insurance companies is pressure-testing your current strategy. It helps you determine the capability of your company to thwart attacks—including targeted, high-impact attacks and a combination of external or internal threats.
Vulnerability assessment, testing programs, penetration tests, as well as scenario-based testing help develop a layer of proactive cyber defence for insurance companies.
Invest continuously in threat detection
Early detection is crucial, not just to thwart and prevent an attack but also to mitigate and respond to an attack. Undetected threats on your network can do considerable damage to your operations.
In addition, detecting threats and attacks early also help you determine the source of the attack, the systems targeted, the operations that were affected, and the current vulnerabilities in the defence architecture that led to the attack.
Facilitate awareness, education, and
resources
As attacks become more sophisticated, it’s essential to understand the role of every employee in strengthening your existing cyber defence strategy. Internal threats against insurance companies—particularly those attributed to human errors—cannot be overlooked.
Conducting comprehensive cybersecurity awareness among employees, updating their knowledge, and testing them can significantly decrease the risk of cyberattacks resulting from human error.
Conduct regular patching and
upgrades
Proactive cyber defence for insurance companies also involves evaluating the past vulnerabilities of the company and improving current strategies to respond to attacks better in future.
This involves regular system upgrades beyond last-generation software, implementing relevant security software and adequate protocols to insulate data against automated threats, and formulating a disaster recovery plan to respond effectively to attacks.
Ensuring proactive cyber defence for insurance companies—what steps need to be taken?
As the threat surface expands, a proactive cyber defence strategy for insurance companies is becoming essential. For insurance companies aiming to build or upgrade their cyber defence strategy, a thorough understanding of their current defence capabilities and vulnerabilities is needed.
Assess your defence capabilities
The first step to ensuring proactive cyber defence for insurance companies is pressure-testing your current strategy. It helps you determine the capability of your company to thwart attacks—including targeted, high-impact attacks and a combination of external or internal threats.
Vulnerability assessment, testing programs, penetration tests, as well as scenario-based testing help develop a layer of proactive cyber defence for insurance companies.
Facilitate awareness, education, and resources
As attacks become more sophisticated, it’s essential to understand the role of every employee in strengthening your existing cyber defence strategy. Internal threats against insurance companies—particularly those attributed to human errors—cannot be overlooked.
Conducting comprehensive cybersecurity awareness among employees, updating their knowledge, and testing them can significantly decrease the risk of cyberattacks resulting from human error.
Invest continuously in threat detection
Early detection is crucial, not just to thwart and prevent an attack but also to mitigate and respond to an attack. Undetected threats on your network can do considerable damage to your operations.
In addition, detecting threats and attacks early also help you determine the source of the attack, the systems targeted, the operations that were affected, and the current vulnerabilities in the defence architecture that led to the attack.
Conduct regular patching and upgrades
Proactive cyber defence for insurance companies also involves evaluating the past vulnerabilities of the company and improving current strategies to respond to attacks better in future.
This involves regular system upgrades beyond last-generation software, implementing relevant security software and adequate protocols to insulate data against automated threats, and formulating a disaster recovery plan to respond effectively to attacks.
Cybersecurity concerns threatening the safety of the insurance sector
Cybersecurity risks can come in many forms, from malware infections to ransomware attacks. The following, in particular, shows an increased interest in insurance companies.
Cyber-extortion
Alarmingly, cyber extortion is becoming a common problem in the insurance sector. Successful attacks give victims no choice but to meet the attacker’s demands and pay huge amounts as bribes to regain control of their systems.
Automated threats
Another reason insurance companies should invest in cyber defence is automated attacks. These attacks often include stealing credentials, scanning for existing vulnerabilities, or denial of service (DoS) attacks that can cripple the systems of a company.
Identity theft and loss of confidential data
Identity theft may result from system vulnerabilities that lead to breaches. Sensitive information, like personal client information, can be particularly valuable for attackers to sell illegally and use for fraud, extortion, and other financial crimes.
Cybersecurity concerns threatening the safety of the insurance sector
Cybersecurity risks can come in many forms, from malware infections to ransomware attacks. The following, in particular, shows an increased interest in insurance companies.
Cyber-extortion
Alarmingly, cyber extortion is becoming a common problem in the insurance sector. Successful attacks give victims no choice but to meet the attacker’s demands and pay huge amounts as bribes to regain control of their systems.
Automated threats
Another reason insurance companies should invest in cyber defence is automated attacks. These attacks often include stealing credentials, scanning for existing vulnerabilities, or denial of service (DoS) attacks that can cripple the systems of a company.
Identity theft and loss of confidential data
Identity theft may result from system vulnerabilities that lead to breaches. Sensitive information, like personal client information, can be particularly valuable for attackers to sell illegally and use for fraud, extortion, and other financial crimes.
Develop a bespoke cyber defence architecture with VOROR
VOROR offers the best cyber defence solutions customised to the needs of each of our clients and the industries they operate in.
Our security solutions can strengthen organisations to become proactive against any cybersecurity risk that disrupts their internal processes and threatens the security of their operations, employees, partners, and clients.
Get in touch with our team of cyber defence specialists to get bespoke solutions for your insurance company.
FAQs
While several vulnerabilities in the current operational methods can lead to successful cyberattacks, cloud vulnerabilities and patch management remain two of the most common.
In addition, attacks also happen due to weak third-party protocols, overlooked endpoint security, and low cyber defence awareness among employees.
As attacks against insurance companies rise, they pose a significant threat to confidential data stored within the company’s systems (policy details and security standards, for example) and threaten the privacy and safety of all stakeholders. In addition, stolen information can be used for fraud or other malicious purposes.
Cyber defence for insurance companies requires investing time, money, and effort in insulating these resources. In the long run, an effective strategy also ensures the continuity and credibility of an insurance company.
Threat actors employ diverse methods to target a variety of insurance companies—ranging from automobile insurance to healthcare insurance. This means insurance companies can’t rely on one generic cyber defence solution anymore.
Instead, companies need individually tailored policies and protocols deployed after a careful review of their current operations, security needs, and security capabilities to enjoy the most secure operations.
Partnering with VOROR guarantees insurance companies state-of-the-art solutions that can ensure the safety and integrity of their insurance processes. Our current services include Zero Trust Assured Protocol Solutions, Zero Trust Email Architecture, government-grade cryptography, and cloud, SD-WAN, and VPN protection.
Insulate your insurance company against cyberattacks with a strong cyber defence architecture
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© All rights reserved | © Voror 2023
© All rights reserved | © Voror 2023