Billions in Potential Marine Insurance Losses as RMS Ranks the Top 10 Riskiest Ports

On the one-year anniversary of the Tianjin Port explosion, ranked as one the highest insured losses in history, catastrophe modeling firm RMS evaluated potential losses at other world ports to aid insurers in their “guessing game” of where disaster could next strike and to what degree.

RMS’ marine risk experts calculated the 1 in 500 year loss probability for ports in nearly 80 countries, looking at cargo type, storage location (near the water or further inland), type of storage (warehouses, containers, etc.), and how long cargo remains in port (which can vary based on automation, labor, and whether goods are imported or exported). RMS noted, for example, that although container shipping has improved the global economy, it increases catastrophic risk exposure due to larger ships.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/16/billions-in-potential-marine-insurance-losses-as-rms-ranks-the-top-10-riskiest-ports/

Erin Ayers, Billions in potential marine insurance losses as RMS ranks the top 10 riskiest ports (August 16, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Global Spending on Information Security Set to Rise to $81.6B

Researchers at Gartner expect worldwide spending on information security products and services to grow another 7.9 percent to $81.6 billion this year, with organizations looking not only to prevent cyber intrusions but also find ways to prevent data loss and recover quickly.

“Organizations are increasingly focusing on detection and response, because taking a preventive approach has not been successful in blocking malicious attacks,” said Elizabeth Kim, senior research analyst at Gartner. “We strongly advise businesses to balance their spending to include both.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/16/global-spending-on-information-security-set-to-rise-to-81-6b/

Erin Ayers, “Global spending on information security set to rise to $81.6B (August 16, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

“Tenuous” Geopolitical Landscape Bears Watching by Risk Managers: RIMS Report

The current global geopolitical landscape has become one of the most unstable in recent memory according to experts, a fact that has serious economic and organizational implications for risk managers and their firms.

“From the violence that continues to be inflicted by ISIS, to the political turmoil in Argentina and Brazil, to the Brexit earthquake that is shaking the European Union, these pessimistic predictions about global stability seem to be accurate. What is a risk manager to do? While many of the crises besetting the globe are con­cerning at an existential level, risk profession­als still must confront the pitfalls facing their organizations,” stated Brandon Righi, author of the RIMS report entitled, “Decoding Political Risk Management.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/16/tenuous-geopolitical-landscape-bears-watching-by-risk-managers-rims-report/

Erin Ayers, “Tenuous” geopolitical landscape bears watching by risk managers: RIMS report (August 16, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

It’s a Small World When it Comes to the Cybersecurity Talent Gap

Cybersecurity staffing shortages are a global problem, according to a new report from Intel Security that examined the particular challenges eight countries face in meeting hiring needs to fight data breaches and other cyber events at organizations.

A vast majority of respondents – 82 percent – reported a shortage of talent when seeking cybersecurity hires, with an estimated one to two million positions unfilled. Critical shortages exist in the most valued skills – intrusion detection, secure software development, and attack mitigation.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/16/its-a-small-world-when-it-comes-to-the-cybersecurity-talent-gap/

Erin Ayers, It’s a small world when it comes to the cybersecurity talent gap (August 16, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Willis Report Sees Added Complexity for Cyber Claims with Government Involvement

The “dynamic” landscape of cyber liability continues to expand and change, as battles between tech companies and law enforcement raised questions about how government authority affects privacy and security earlier this year, according to a new report from Willis Towers Watson.

The firm’s most recent briefing on cyber claims found that the process could become increasingly complicated by the interplay between organizations holding consumer data and investigators seeking that data. The briefing also discussed the rise in cyber extortion, the need to train employees better to avoid breaches, and the implications of the European Union’s data privacy directive.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/willis-report-sees-added-complexity-for-cyber-claims-with-government-involvement/

Erin Ayers, Willis report sees added complexity for cyber claims with government involvement (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Public-Private Partnership is Key to Combating Cybercrime, Says UK Report

A joint assessment by the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Strategic Cyber Industry Group (SCIG) calls for a stronger partnership between business and law enforcement to combat cybercrime.

According to the report cybercrime now exceeds all other crime combined in the UK. It is a growing problem costing the UK economy billions per year.

“In any calculation we must consider that there are millions of individual victims, many thousands of corporate victims and correspondingly substantial losses,” said the report.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/public-private-partnership-is-key-to-combating-cybercrime-says-uk-report/

Josh Bradford, Public-private partnership is key to combating cybercrime, says UK report (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

‘Extreme Space Weather’ Carries Trillion-Dollar Risk for US Power Grid: Report

Forget hackers, researchers say that a severe solar storm could shut down the US power grid for months and cause up to $2.7 trillion in damage in a new report from the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies and American International Group (AIG).

Uncertainty swirls about the potential impact of “extreme space weather” such as coronal mass ejections (CME), or solar storms, on modern technology, according to the new report, called the Helios Storm Scenario. Researchers emphasize their studies should be considered a stress test, not a prediction, but examined three potential scenarios ranging in severity. The $2.7 trillion estimate reflects the most severe event, with all economic impacts included. Insured losses were found to be more in the range of $55 billion to $333.7 billion.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/extreme-space-weather-carries-trillion-dollar-risk-for-us-power-grid-report/

Erin Ayers, ‘Extreme space weather’ carries trillion-dollar risk for US power grid: report (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Infosec Professionals Not Concerned About US Election’s Effect on Cybersecurity

A recent survey of information security professionals showed a relative lack of concern over the current US presidential election’s effect on global cybersecurity. Of respondents to a Tripwire survey, almost half felt that the campaigning would have no “lasting impact.” More than half (54 percent) said they weren’t concerned that the election would have a negative impact.

“There is a big difference between having candidates who have a cyber security policy and candidates who have an understanding of cyber security,” said Dwayne Melancon, chief technology officer for Tripwire.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/infosec-professionals-not-concerned-about-us-elections-effect-on-cybersecurity/

Erin Ayers, Infosec professionals not concerned about US election’s effect on cybersecurity (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Employee Theft Shatters Trust When Good Workers Go Bad: Hiscox

Employee theft can send an organization into turmoil, both financially and in terms of the trust businesses place in their workers, according to the 2016 Hiscox Embezzlement Study, which analyzed some of the reasons employees go bad and how companies can respond.

“Why do people steal from the hand that feeds them? The motivations of embezzlers are often different from those of other criminals. Perpetrators are often regular people who are smart, well-liked, and those you’d least expect to steal. How does a trusted employee turn into a criminal?” stated Hiscox in its report.

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/employee-theft-shatters-trust-in-good-workers

Erin Ayers, Employee theft shatters trust when good workers go bad: Hiscox (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Hackers Have All the Time in the World to Strike – But Organizations Can Defend Themselves

Cyber criminals continue to disrupt their targets’ operations and a new report from Cisco recommends reducing their “time to operate” by shifting defense strategies from fighting intrusions “here and there” to a holistic approach to security.

“Defenders are not protecting systems in a way that matches how attackers do their work. Although defenders have evolved their strategies and tools for fighting online criminals, attackers are still permitted far too much unconstrained time to operate,” commented Cisco in its midyear report on cybersecurity. “If defenders improve the tools at their disposal, by reducing the time needed to patch vulnerabilities and upgrade their infrastructure, attackers become known—and therefore, defenders can constrain and even close adversaries’ operational spaces.”

Read more at http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/08/02/hackers-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-to-strike-but-organizations-can-defend-themselves/

Erin Ayers, Hackers have all the time in the world to strike – but organizations can defend themselves (August 2, 2016), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Cyber Vulnerability: Where Do You Stand?

July 2016

Advisen released a white paper featuring the results of a comprehensive cyber study between Advisen and BitSight Technologies focusing on the analysis of the cyber security posture of three industries: Finance and Insurance, Healthcare and Social Assistance, and Public Administration. The study looks into the number of event types by year from 2012 to 2016, the security ratings for cyber insurance by industry, and many other key data.

The free, 17-page paper is sponsored by BitSight Technologies.

A Closer Look at Cyber Events

Numerous reports show that the number of cyber attacks is rapidly growing. According to Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report, the number of zero-day vulnerabilities discovered more than doubled in 2015, and this year there have been an average of over 4,000 ransomware attacks per day.

Read more and download the white paper here: http://bit.ly/2aBFpOE

Advisen Ltd. (2016). Cyber Vulnerability: Where Do You Stand? [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.advisenltd.com/2016/07/27/cyber-vulnerability-where-do-you-stand/