This submit is a part of a sequence sponsored by AgentSync.
Knowledge is on the core of the insurance coverage trade. From the smallest impartial businesses to the biggest legacy carriers, insurance coverage organizations of all sizes home knowledge. This contains distribution channel knowledge like the knowledge collected and saved to license and appoint insurance coverage producers and adjusters, in addition to any shopper knowledge these companies collected within the means of promoting insurance policies.
Yep, the insurance coverage trade just about runs on knowledge. Nevertheless, this reliance on delicate private and monetary data additionally makes insurance coverage organizations a chief goal for cybersecurity assaults.
Cyber assault charges are up within the insurance coverage trade
Over the past decade, the insurance coverage trade has gone by means of a reasonably excessive digital transformation. Businesses, carriers, MGAs, and each different trade participant in between have migrated away from handbook workflows and legacy techniques in favor of extra strong digital options for his or her each day operations.
Insurance coverage organizations that prioritize tech modernization provide their staff, prospects, and distribution companions a extra seamless expertise, however there’s a value to progress. Because the insurance coverage sector migrates towards extra digital channels, the danger of cyber assaults will increase exponentially.
As we spherical out Cybersecurity Consciousness Month, we figured now’s the time to supply an summary of among the prime cybersecurity dangers insurance coverage organizations at present face together with a number of finest practices for shielding your knowledge and your backside line from an assault.
Key cybersecurity dangers within the insurance coverage sector
Knowledge breaches
In terms of cyber assaults, knowledge breaches are a prime concern and one of the vital vital threats dealing with not solely insurance coverage organizations, however nearly each enterprise throughout each trade. Even big-name gamers like Apple and Verizon have fallen prey to knowledge breaches prior to now. It’s because hackers can entry and expose a corporation’s knowledge by means of quite a lot of completely different strategies, together with:
- Malware
- Insider threats
- Phishing
- Ransomware
- Utility vulnerabilities
- Password guessing
- And plenty of, many extra
In March of 2024, Constancy Investments Life Insurance coverage Co. skilled an information breach that compromised the private knowledge of greater than 28,000 of their prospects. Cyber criminals obtained delicate data together with names, Social Safety numbers, financial institution accounts, and birthdates of Constancy policyholders by means of a hack at one among their third-party suppliers.
Past monetary losses, insurance coverage organizations may face authorized liabilities, injury to their status, and lack of buyer and companion belief on account of a breach.
Social Engineering
You’d by no means give away delicate data to somebody you don’t know (we hope!) however what in case you thought the ask got here from somebody you knew and trusted? Social engineering happens when a cyber prison manipulates a person into giving up confidential data, usually by posing as somebody the person trusts. What can appear to be a innocent electronic mail from a coworker asking you to click on a hyperlink or obtain a doc, would possibly really be a intelligent method for hackers to infiltrate your techniques and compromise your knowledge.
As soon as hackers acquire entry to a system by means of social engineering, they will rapidly deploy different assaults like distributing malware or knowledge breaches, inflicting much more monetary and reputational injury.
Theft and Fraud
The shift to extra digital channels and touchpoints means a big variety of monetary transactions within the insurance coverage trade happen on-line. Whereas this makes issues simpler and extra handy for everybody concerned in insurance coverage distribution, it additionally opens companies as much as a better threat of fraud.
Cybercriminals are more and more focusing on insurance coverage firms to commit fraud. From identification thefts to extra complicated schemes like claims manipulation, every year insurance coverage fraud prices the trade an estimated $308 billion.
Defend your knowledge and your backside line by following these cybersecurity ideas
Whereas no firm is 100% proof against a cyber assault, there are methods to reduce your threat. Insurance coverage organizations can observe the following tips to make sure their knowledge is locked down, compliant, and protected from exterior threats:
Tip No. 1: Require multi-factor authentication throughout all techniques
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) has rapidly change into a regular of knowledge safety in lots of industries, and insurance coverage isn’t any exception. MFA ensures that earlier than a consumer logs right into a system they’ve gone by means of not less than two completely different factors of authentication.
Sometimes, MFA includes a consumer getting into their commonplace login credentials together with a one-time passcode despatched to them by way of textual content or electronic mail. Having a number of identification verification checks makes it harder for unauthorized people to sneak in by stopping attackers at a second authentication stage even when a password is compromised.
Tip No. 2: Prioritize ongoing safety consciousness coaching
As frontline defenders, staff play an important position in figuring out and mitigating dangers like phishing assaults, fraud, and knowledge breaches. Providing (or higher but, requiring) common coaching classes can equip your crew with the data and abilities they should acknowledge potential threats.
By demonstrating a dedication to ongoing cyber-security coaching, you foster a tradition of vigilance at your group. And since we within the trade know the way rapidly issues can change and new improvements can come up, steady coaching is a should. Ongoing training ensures your staff keep updated on the newest threats and finest practices, reinforcing their understanding of compliance necessities and safety protocols.
Tip No. 3: Create an incident response plan
Within the unlucky occasion that your knowledge is compromised, it’s all the time a good suggestion to have a response plan in place. Relatively than panicking submit cyber assault, making a plan for restoration is a proactive method that may assist decrease injury, scale back downtime, and protect your total status.
A well-defined plan improves preparedness by figuring out potential vulnerabilities and outlining methods for restoration. When crafting your plan, make sure that to outline clear procedures and duties for responding to completely different incidents. And don’t neglect to replace and check your plan frequently to make sure staff are accustomed to their roles.
Tip No. 4: Assess your third-party vendor knowledge hygiene
Utilizing third-party distributors is on the rise within the insurance coverage sector. With extra insurers and businesses partnering with third-party suppliers for not less than one part of their digital transformation, a corporation’s knowledge safety success will depend on the safety and preparedness of any software program is companions with.
To make sure your techniques, in addition to any distributors you might companion with, are safe, compliant, and able to safeguarding delicate data, your group wants a stable safety framework. SOC 2 is a robust framework designed to assist companies navigate the complicated panorama of knowledge safety and regulatory compliance.
Extra particularly, a SOC 2 Kind II audit assesses any controls and processes a enterprise has associated to knowledge safety, availability, confidentiality, and privateness. Selecting distributors who’ve carried out a SOC 2 Kind II audit helps insurance coverage trade companies:
- Defend shopper knowledge
- Preserve compliance
- Construct buyer and companion belief
- Enhance operational effectivity
- Mitigate threat
- Acquire a aggressive benefit
And that’s simply to call a number of of the advantages!
Knowledge safety ought to by no means be an afterthought
With extra knowledge and extra breaches, the power to be resilient to cyber assaults is rapidly turning into a core requirement for insurance coverage organizations. As cyber threats proceed to evolve, prioritizing knowledge safety from the outset ensures that strong defenses are built-in throughout all operational processes.
One of the best ways to keep away from a cyber assault is to remain diligent in assessing and updating you group’s safety requirements and cyber-hygiene practices, together with that of any software program distributors you’re employed with.
If you happen to’re contemplating partnering with AgentSync for extra trendy and seamless producer licensing and compliance administration at your provider, company, or MGA/MGU, then you’ll be able to breathe a sigh of aid. Our merchandise are constructed on a zero-trust structure and we’re very happy to stroll you thru all of the methods through which we prioritize your knowledge safety. To study extra, try a demo, or speak to an AgentSync skilled at this time.
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