The Australian Privacy Act and the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) place strict requirements on how we handle customer data – and insurance companies handle more customer data than most.
Industry experts
Australia’s trusted insurance security advisor
“Data is the lifeblood of insurance companies; without accurate and comprehensive data it’s almost impossible to provide a viable and sustainable offering. Therefore, insurance providers need to take every possible measure to protect data,”
Mark Hoppe, Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand at Atradius, speaking to Asia Pacific Security Magazine.
Sense of Security can work with you to ensure that you hold your data securely and have the right policies and procedures in place to deal with a breach if it occurs.
Sense of Security partners with you to
secure your data and protect against attack
Risk management is the daily bread of the insurance industry. While insurers are rigorous about assessing the risks they insure, they often fall short when assessing their own.
The Hiscox 2019 Cyber Readiness Report says that more firms are failing the cyber readiness test, and losses from cyber-attacks are increasing. This is especially concerning for insurance businesses when we know how much insurance business is transacted online.
To remedy this situation, Sense of Security agrees with Mark Hoppe that insurance companies should consider the strategies that have worked well in other industries:
- Elevate cyber security to boardroom level with a knowledgeable C-suite executive in place who can understand cyber risks to the businesses and how they are being addressed
- Review the business’s current capability, plug any gaps and propagate any best-practice solutions across the entire enterprise
- Communicate throughout the organisation, and to agents and other customer-facing partners, that security is everybody’s responsibility, including explanations of vulnerable areas like third-party suppliers, partners, agents, brokers and employees with sensitive data
- Collaborate between different parts of the organisation to distribute resources appropriately and have clear cyber security response plans in place
- Plan for incidents to occur and be prepared, with responsibilities defined, staff trained, and responses rehearsed and tested
Sense of Security can work with you every step of the way, either guiding the process for you or providing advice to your staff as they undertake the journey.
A cyber security toolkit for the insurance industry
We are trusted partners who can work with you to strengthen your cyber defences and data security. Our team has been working with insurers for nearly two decades, and can help you to be well-prepared to create the secure, reliable digital experience that customers demand. We can work with you on an ongoing or retainer basis.
Some of the services we offer include:
PII data security
We can provide advice on how to protect personal identifiable information (PII), which is highly sensitive in nature.
Data security and breach notification
Sense of Security can advise you on how to implement strong data security. We will also work with you on policies and procedures to meet your data breach notification requirements. In the rare event of a breach, Sense of Security can oversee your response, advise on any potential pitfalls, and suggest improvements.
Cyber health check
Our cyber health check is a valuable tool in assessing your organisation’s cyber risk, developing a cyber risk management policy and building cyber resilience.
Enterprise cyber security review and data governance
Our enterprise cyber security review (ECSR) will help you with your top-down security management.
Vulnerability management
This service helps you to methodically identify and minimise vulnerabilities in your networks, computer infrastructure and applications.
Penetration testing
Our penetration testing services test the security of your information systems. We identify vulnerabilities and help you fortify your protection.
Sense of Security is your trusted cyber security partner for the Insurance industry.
Call today on 1300 922 923 to discuss your cyber security needs or make an online enquiry here.
Insurance sector case study
A health insurance provider
Opportunity
The insurer provides web and mobile apps for policy holders to manage their health insurance. The applications are hosted and managed by the insurance company.
Sense of Security was engaged to assess the risks associated with the application and the security status of the information assets.
The report was presented to the board for a decision on the required investment in security of the applications.
Achievements
- The assessment allowed the company to quantify the level of cyber risk, remedy any security gaps and improve its overall security.
- The board-level executive summary allowed the board to make an informed assessment of whether the security initiatives were aligned to business objectives and whether to fund them.
