Hausmann Group February 2, 2018 6 min read

Cyber Risk – What Can We Expect In 2018?

Looking back, 2017 was a big year for cyber-attacks affecting large and small businesses worldwide, government entities, and individual’s private personal information.  Below are some of the large-scale events that you might recall:

  • Equifax Breach – The personal data of 145 million people was stolen from Equifax, one of the largest credit bureaus. This impact could last for years because the personally identifiable information was sold on the dark web and can be used for identity theft.
  • Leaked Government Resources – A tool used by the National Security Agency was breached allowing hackers to compromise Windows servers and operating systems. This ultimately resulted in the WannaCry ransomware that spanned 150 countries.

cyber risk in 2018

These are just a couple of the major breaches we saw in 2017.  Even though large entities were the access point of the breaches, the attacks had a trickledown effect on society as a whole.  Looking ahead through 2018, we are to expect even more of these types of events but with a more profound impact.

In the 2018 Aon Cybersecurity Predictions report, Jason J. Hogg, CEO, Aon Cyber Solutions stated, “With the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) we have also witnessed a proliferation of disturbed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on IoT, crippling the device’s functionality. In 2018, we anticipate heightened cyber exposure due to a convergence of three trends: first, companies' increasing reliance on technology; second, regulators' intensified focus on protecting consumer data; and third, the rising value of non-physical assets.”

The 2018 Predictions take a glance into the future with cyber related claims increasing in severity and frequency combined with new advanced breach tactics.  Companies, along with their executives, will be held more accountable for protecting information and implementing new positions to make sure the proper precautions are in place.

Highlights of the Aon Cybersecurity Report include the following predictions for 2018:

  • More businesses implement standalone cyber insurance policies as executives become more aware of the threats affecting all sectors.
  • Chief Risk Officers and Chief Information Security Officers team up to help organizations comprehend the impact of cyber as an enterprise risk and implement plans in the event of a breach.
  • Cyber security regulations become more strict and complex, calling for global coordination and compliance pressure on companies.
  • Cyber criminals will bring down large companies by channeling in through small vendors as a way to access their network. This tactic will trigger a wake-up call for businesses to update their approach to third-party risk management.
  • New authentication methods (facial recognition, fingerprint) used for security purposes will show to still have vulnerabilities, just like passwords. More companies will start implementing multi-factor authentication requirements to close the gap on the susceptibilities.
  • Cyber criminals will attack transactions that use reward points as currency, causing companies that have loyalty, gift, and reward programs to adopt bug bounty programs.
  • Companies will continue to lack insider risk mitigation techniques and fail to provide security training and cyber risk awareness to employees. Many companies will respond to cyber incidents behind closed doors and remain unaware of the actual cost and impact.

We have learned that all businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.  With the beginning of a new year, now is a good time to make sure your business has the necessary tools and resources in place in the event of a breach.   Please contact your Hausmann-Johnson Insurance professional for more information on Cyber Liability and how it can protect your business. 


P.S. Be sure to register for our upcoming webinar, The Impact of Cyber Claims.

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