(Hartford, CT) – The somewhat laggard entry of many insurers into
“online” distribution of policies and services now may be exposing their
customers, business partners and themselves to massive losses caused by breaches in
security, according to a new study from Conning & Company.
The Conning study, “Cyber-Security for
Insurers: The Virtual Fortress?” explains that insurers may be very attractive
targets for attacks. First, insurers manage substantial liquid financial assets of their
own as well as others’. Second, they may be specifically targeted by aggrieved
hackers to avenge perceived illtreatment. Finally, insurers may be considered by some to
be relatively easy targets because of their heavy reliance on “legacy” computer
systems, relatively recent ventures into Internet-based processes, and growing
interconnectivity with a large number of business partners. Structural changes associated
with mergers and acquisitions and recent “downsizing” also may increase
insurers’ security vulnerabilities.
“It is critical that insurers address
their cyber-security vulnerabilities because of the substantial costs associated with
breaches and the serious reputational damage that could result,” warned Clint Harris,
Vice President at Conning and author of the study. “The trends are ominous for all
industries,” he continued. “Losses associated with cyber-security breaches, as
we defined in the study, are projected to increase to $46.3 billion by 2005, more than
twice the amount as in 2000.”
Even this considerable cost likely
underestimates potential losses because it does not include so-called “soft
costs”, such as degradation of brand image. In addition to holding important
“information assets”, insurers maintain highly sensitive, personal information
such as medical records. “What is the cost of having a person’s life devastated
because sensitive information was stolen and publicized? The monetary settlement cannot
replace the trust insurers have built with their customers and business partners,” said Harris.
The study observes that the proliferation
of rules, regulations and standards regarding cyber-security is more likely to escalate
than abate in the near future. However, too great a focus on the security-related privacy
provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA) or the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) may actually result in reduced
security. The difficulty in concentrating on complying to external standards is that those
standards can be ambiguous, subject to change and may actually distract the company from
its true internal cyber-security objectives.
“In conducting this study, we
discovered that some insurers may be in denial about their cyber-security risks,”
said Harris. “Their argument is ‘We haven’t had a major incident so
there’s no reason to panic. We spent millions on Y2K, perhaps unnecessarily, and we
have no intention of repeating that.’ Insurers need to recognize that systems
vulnerability is a very different exposure than the Y2K bug. First, there are large losses
resulting from breaches already. Second, unlike Y2K, there is no end date for the
exposure. Finally, cyber-security exposures are projected to escalate due to
insurers’ increased reliance on more open technologies, growth and maturity of
cyber-security attackers, and structural changes that continue to change the industry.”
The Conning Study, “Cyber-Security for
Insurers: The Virtual Fortress?” is available from Conning & Company for $575 by
calling toll free (888) 707-1177 or (860) 520-1245. A complete listing of all Conning
Strategic Studies can also be found by visiting the company’s Web site at
www.conning.com.
About Conning & Company
Conning Corporation, through its
subsidiaries, provides asset management services to insurance companies and institutional
investors, manages private equity funds investing in financial services companies, and
conducts in-depth research on the financial services industry. Conning & Company
(member NASD/SIPC) is located at CityPlace II, 185 Asylum Street, Hartford, CT 06103.