October: A Month to Enhance Your Cybersecurity Awareness

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, a significant annual reminder for cybersecurity professionals, including those in cybersecurity liability insurance to review trends, policies, and laws. In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, staying ahead of cyber threats is essential, not just for individuals and organizations but for insurance practitioners specializing in cyber liability coverage. This blog discusses the importance of Cyber Security Awareness Month and its direct implications for those in the insurance industry.

Why Cybersecurity Matters in Insurance

Cybersecurity breaches have become increasingly prevalent and devastating. For insurance practitioners in the line of cyber liability, it’s essential to understand the ever-expanding threat landscape. To effectively evaluate and underwrite cyber insurance policies, one must stay informed about the latest trends in cyber threats and mitigation strategies. Here’s why:

• Risk Assessment: Accurate risk assessment is the cornerstone of insurance. Understanding current cyber threats and vulnerabilities allows insurance practitioners to assess and price risk more precisely.
• Policy Design: In a constantly evolving threat environment, insurance policies must adapt. Knowledge of emerging threats helps in creating comprehensive and relevant coverage for clients.
• Claims Management: When clients experience a cyber incident, insurance practitioners play a crucial role in claims management. Knowledge about the latest threats and response measures is indispensable in this process.

Preventative Measures and Education

Cyber Security Awareness Month isn’t just about understanding threats; it’s also an opportunity to advocate for preventative measures and education:

• Awareness Training: Encourage your clients to invest in cybersecurity awareness training for their employees. Educated staff can act as a robust defense against many common threats.
• Regular Updates: Emphasize the importance of regular software updates and security patches. Outdated software is a common entry point for cyberattacks.
• Incident Response Planning: Help clients develop and implement incident response plans. Being prepared can mitigate the damage caused by cyber incidents and expedite the claims process.

Our Resources for Cyber Security Liability Insurance Practitioners

In support of Cyber Security Awareness Month, we have developed a list of our latest resources and educational readings, podcasts, and previous webinars to binge this month.

• Podcast – Demystifying NFTs Episode 5: Tune in to experts discussing the underwriting of companies with NFT risks from the viewpoint of a cyber and technology liability underwriter.
  
  In case you missed the previous Episodes: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• Podcast – Managing Cybersecurity Threats in 2023 Episode 3: Listen to our experts discuss all the trends seen in 2023 – from increased ransom demands and paying for data deletion, to an uptick in breaches within the professional services industry.
  
  In case you missed the previous Episodes: 1 & 2.
• Blog – Basic Security Can Prevent Small Businesses From Losing Millions: Inexpensive measures working in tandem with your insurance policy can save your organization from a crippling cyber incident.
• Blog – Executive Summary: The Betterley Reports Cyber Privacy Insurance Market Survey2023: This report reviews the state of the current market. It compares 23 insurers in this years edition with over 100 pages of comparison charts.
• Blog – Understanding Evolving Data Breach Reporting Obligations and Your Insurance Coverage: Review your personal data breach reporting obligations in this blog.
• Webinar – Commercial & Cyber Crime Risks: A Coverage Labyrinth Webinar Recap: This session discusses how to identify a crime loss and a cyber loss, the differences between the two, and the role that brokers can play in structuring a clients insurance program to best address both exposures.
• Education – Cyber University On-Demand – Did you miss our live fall session? You can purchase and go through the program at your own pace through this on-demand version.

Increase your knowledge and expertise in the dynamic field of cybersecurity liability insurance! Share them with your colleagues, and together, we can better serve our clients.

The Importance of Furthering Your Education

As we observe Cyber Security Awareness Month, it’s a reminder of our collective responsibility to secure the digital world. Cybersecurity liability insurance practitioners play a vital role in helping organizations mitigate risks and recover from cyber incidents.

By staying informed, advocating for best practices, and utilizing the resources we’ve provided, you can enhance your ability to provide effective coverage and support to your clients. Let’s work together to fortify our clients’ digital resilience and make the digital world safer for all.

• PLUSs Cyber Professional Liability Practitioner (CPLP) designation, equips you with essential knowledge about cyber liability in the professional liability domain. The CPLP designation ensures you’re up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in this ever-shifting landscape. This designation is a great way to showcase your cyber liability knowledge.
• Be sure to register for our upcoming October 25th webinar, Impact of Comprehensive U.S. Privacy Laws on Cyber Insurance. Amidst a surge in privacy-related legislation at both federal and state levels in 2022, with five states implementing or updating comprehensive privacy laws in 2023, this session delves into how insurance is adapting to these changes and how businesses should navigate evolving privacy and security risks.

Happy Cyber Security Awareness Month!