While insurers have made significant security improvements, they have not kept pace with today’s determined cyber adversaries. As a result, many rely on yesterday’s security practices to combat the threats of tomorrow.
Executive Summary
Even though insurers' security budgets were at an all-time high in 2013, they still experienced more security incidents than ever before, according to PwC. Here, PwC Partner Joseph Nocera summarizes the characteristics of insurers that lead the pack in thwarting cyber attacks and minimizing their costs. He then outlines a framework for defending against emerging cyber threats, highlighting six new security capabilities for insurers to invest in going forward.We describe below some of the highlights of PwC’s recent “Global State of Information Security” report, which summarizes key cyber threats for insurers—both life and property/casualty—and the insurance industry’s response to them.
Cyber attacks on insurers are nothing new; the industry has been heavily targeted for years. Moreover, information security is an area of focus for insurance regulators, privacy regulation and a variety of auditors. As a result, insurers’ information security budgets are at an all-time high.
