The insurance sector took a huge hit during the covid-19 pandemic. Consumers were worried about payment of their auto insurance bills, car payments, mortgage payments, life insurance policy payments, homeowners/renters’ insurance etc. The unexpected increase in health risks and inadequate coverage by insurance only added to their woes. The ensuing economic slump affected both providers and consumers alike.
The cumulative effect of this caused a change in consumer behavior and subsequently caused the insurance sector to gravitate faster towards digitization. According to a recent survey, across the globe, there was a 20% increase in digitization by the insurance sector in 2020 alone. Increasingly consumers began using the digital services for claims submissions or obtaining digital policies.
Everyone needs insurance in one form or another, usually more than one kind. It requires surrendering contact information, financial and banking information and, depending on the type of insurance, health information as well. This sensitive information would be shared with multiple insurance companies as they look around for the best insurance policy. This leads to vast amounts of data being circulated and stored at various locations. If leaked, this can lead to disastrous outcomes; fines from regulatory authorities, lawsuits from clients, or ransom demand from companies that have unleashed ransomware attacks on the database.
Insurance industry is home to colossal amounts of sensitive data. As an element of trust in insurers retains customers and brings in new ones, it is critical for the industry to maintain its reputation. Now the data collected by insurers can be divided into structured and unstructured data. Structured data comprises name, address, contact numbers, vehicle related information, medical history, etc. This data can be easily organized into a structured format, made easily searchable, and can be made machine readable. However, unstructured data which comprises emails, reports, multimedia, photographs, social media etc. have to be collected in a human-readable format. As this data is customized it is difficult to put into a format.
Further, traditional security tools and technologies are not of use any more to prevent cyberattacks. The staff are not trained or have enough knowledge to respond effectively to a threat or an attack. It is especially difficult while handling unstructured data. Last but not least, trust is paramount in this business. Even a rumor of a cyber-attack can cause significant damage to the reputation of the insurance company. Thus, it is quite a challenge to keep business afloat whilst safeguarding customer data.
The most significant strategies that come to mind immediately are advancements in technologies and effective policies apart from user training. Good technology will work efficiently only if accompanied by good policy and vice versa. For instance, an exposed database in the cloud due to unclear policy will undermine use of any advanced technology.
Moving on to the other significant measure that is user training. Undoubtedly the majority of the attacks are in some form of social engineering. An attack in such a manner is usually the direct result of inadequate user training. Users are tricked into revealing information of relevance which when combined with other accumulated information can cause severe damage or provide enough ammunition to launch an attack.
Malware such as ransomware attack and phishing attacks such as spear phishing attack are most common in the insurance industry. Ransomware blocks a company’s access to its data and systems. For instance, Emotet and Trickbot are the Trojan horse malware that are a big threat to the insurance companies. Tricking a customer / client into revealing personal details via email, phone call or other means in a fraudulent manner is a common form of phishing attack. All PII (personally identifiable information) are exposed such as names, addresses, banking information, social security numbers etc. Spear phishing is another form of social engineering that usually targets an individual. Negligence by means of inadvertently disclosing confidential information is also a threat that cannot be overlooked. It puts clients at risk and a company’s reputation in jeopardy.
Digitization of the insurance sector has caused the IT team to use data and advanced analytics to collect, process, and handle vast amounts of consumer information. Apart from analyzing the data, they are finding ways to secure the data as well.
The insurance sector has to tackle a series of challenges even as they prepare to tighten security across their network:
The main strategy must be to improve efficiency, increase profit, reduce costs, bring in transparency, identify niche areas, risk consulting and claims. For this to occur, it is important for insurers and brokers to understand what the data is and where the data is being held.
The focus must be to identify employees who are vulnerable to phishing attacks, especially ones who are working remotely. It is wise to invest in a good human firewall system. Using advanced and innovative technology to build a robust security posture will ensure that your company stays afloat in spite of numerous threats/hacks.
Some ways to protect against cyber threats are:
In keeping up with the old adage “Prevention is better than cure”, it is ideal to take a proactive measure than a reactive one. That being said, it is unlikely that you will be able to prevent all attacks. So, it is prudent to design a solution that is a mix of both proactive and reactive solutions.
Some of the methods of handling risk are:
The insurance industry is still at the fledgling stage as far as cyber security is concerned, as are most industries. On the other hand, it perhaps understands risk better than anybody else. After all, they are in the business of taking risks.
The covid-19 pandemic forced companies to continue operations via remote working. Work from home (WFH) became the new norm. This led to a significant number of employees accessing data via unsecured networks, leading the banking, financial and insurance sector to become a hotspot for attacks.
There is rapid advancement in protecting Big Data across all industries. Financial data from financial and banking institutions and data from the insurance industry are prime targets for hackers because of the sheer amount of money the data involved is worth.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) help to fight malware, ransomware, and other advanced persistent threats (APT) significantly. As these new technologies are well equipped to handle voluminous amounts of data, any small deviation from the expected pattern can be brought to notice at once. They are equipped to monitor and respond effectively to threats.
Cyber security solutions must be poised to address encryption of large amounts of data, data behavior, focus on access controls, and prevent data leaks. Furthermore, real-time analysis and monitoring must be part of the solution to avoid any degradation in performance that could lead to inevitable delays in data processing.
Some insurance companies have begun implementing stringent cyber security measures to tackle threats/attacks heads on. Others are following suit.
Some suggested measures to be adopted by the companies are:
The sheer size and volume of the insurance industry puts the industry in the high-risk category for attacks from cyber criminals. Majority of the people have insurance of some kind where their PII (personally identifiable information) is stored. An attack on this can cause irreparable damage to thousands of customers and can put the insurance company out of business.
An attack that renders data inaccessible or unusable can lead to severe crises and economic losses for the insurance companies. Therefore, insurance companies are adopting cyber security measures to protect their IT network.
A system of prevention and proactive vigilance needs to be installed to provide the best defense against cyber security threats and attacks. A continuous monitoring system can prevent the exploitation of multiple entry points by cyber criminals. The best and brightest cyber security solutions are in high demand as this sector offers opportunities at all levels for security professionals.