InView Autumn/Winter 2015

Issue 2 | Autumn/Winter 2015
5
CYBER RISKS – OLD RISKS
MANIFESTING IN NEW WAYS
The threats posed by cyber risks to UK businesses are immense. There is a
need for the government to raise awareness and for insurers to develop more
sophisticated policies. Ed Lewis explains why.
Mankind craves convenience and across the globe
increasingly relies on computers, smartphones and the
internet to deliver it. In fact, technology dominates our lives
and provides surrogates for many of our daily activities:
or gain access to our digital assets is vulnerable, especially
if we connect it to the Internet. Just like your home – anyone
can try to get in. Whether they succeed and what they can do
once inside, however, is down to our behaviour and security.
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spaces for working and socialising
communication
access to knowledge and information
storage of important records and data
managing our money.
In terms of scale, the potential is also vast. The average
smart phone fits in your back pocket, yet has the equivalent
capacity of about 5,000 filing cabinets!
Technology therefore makes traditional crimes such as theft,
fraud, blackmail and vandalism not only easier but also
more lucrative than ever before. The internet also makes it
possible to commit them remotely and with total anonymity.
However, advancements in technology have also heralded a
new danger, cyber threats. We’ve all heard about this danger,
but what is it, really?
Essentially it’s the new way in which technology exposes
us to “old” risks because of how we use it and what we
use it for. New phrases to describe this phenomenon
have emerged, such as cyber fraud, cyber espionage
and hacktivism.
However, general understanding and knowledge of cyber
threats within the insurance market (including brokers,
underwriters and policy holders) remains limited.
What exactly are cyber risks?
Increasingly we store the things we value most in digital
form. Examples include data, such as personal information,
money and trade secrets. Guarding against cyber risks is
therefore principally about protecting these digital “assets”
from deliberate or accidental harm.
Not only are digital assets easier to manage, they can be
accessed, copied or shared at the click of a button. But
beware of this convenience; any device that we use to store
Sadly then, cyber safety is too often overlooked in favour of
efficiency. Just because the dangers posed by technology
are not always visible, it doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Better rules to develop and govern our behaviour when
using technology are therefore essential.
So remember, next time you hear someone mention cyber
threats don’t dismiss them as an IT problem. These threats
come from the abuse of technology: either deliberate
abuse to facilitate criminal activity or accidental abuse
through human error, but both can have equally disastrous
consequences. The things you value, or which others value
and you look after, could be at risk!
It’s also about culture: how we allow the abuse to happen
and our efforts at prevention. We can approach cultural
change at various levels: individually; organisationally;
nationally; even globally. But with the threats so prevalent
and constantly evolving, ultimately change is needed if they
are to be controlled.
So remember, next time you hear someone
mention cyber threats don’t dismiss them
as an IT problem. These threats come from
the abuse of technology.