Blockchain and Cyber Risk

Wednesday, October 18 at 11am ET

Imagine a world where every process, agreement, task and payment would have a digital code that could be identified, validated, stored and shared. That’s the gigantic potential of blockchain technology. According to Forbes, “everyone from Wall Street to Walmart is betting on it.” The important question in the insurance industry is how blockchain adoption will affect cybersecurity and cyber insurance.

For more info and registration of this upcoming webinar, visit: https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/10/18/blockchain-cyber-risk/

SVIA | Advisen Ltd. October 2017. Blockchain and Cyber Risk [Webinar].

Economic, Geopolitical Risks Most Worry Global Business Leaders: World Economic Forum Survey

A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) survey revealed that while unemployment/underemployment represented the top global risk concerning business leaders, North American businesses cited terrorist attacks, large cyberattacks, climate change, and technology risks as their main worries.

“While the threat of a large cyberattack remains a chief business concern among North American executives, 2017 saw an increase in concern for terrorist attacks and climate risks, most likely due to recent high profile events,” said Martin South, president, Marsh US and Canada. “Businesses should work with their risk advisers to thoroughly examine how these threats could impact their operations and determine appropriate risk management and business continuity measures. The good news, particularly for technology risks, is the insurance market is flush with capacity and now routinely provides protection for business interruption exposure in addition to more traditional cyber liability.”

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/09/21/geopolitical-risk-global-business-world-economic-forum

Erin Ayers, Economic, geopolitical risks most worry global business leaders: World Economic Forum survey (September 21, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Equifax Breach Draws Investigations From FTC, Ags

The Equifax breach of 143 million individuals’ personal information has drawn unprecedented levels of anger and scrutiny from federal and state officials, with numerous bills introduced, hearings called, and investigations opened.

The cyber event also resulted in the announcement that the credit reporting firm’s chief information officer David Webb and chief security officer Susan Mauldin would retire immediately. Equifax quickly drew criticism for having installed Mauldin, a person with multiple degrees in music composition but no formal security training, as its chief security officer.

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/09/21/equifax-breach-draws-investigations-ftc-ags/

Erin Ayers, Equifax breach draws investigations from FTC, AGs (September 18, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

‘Turbulent’ Time, Uncertainty for D&O Litigation After Trump Dismantles Regulations

President Trump’s push to greatly reduce federal regulation will not reduce litigation, according to experts speaking here at Advisen’s Executive Risk Insights Conference on September 13.

Trump’s commitment since taking office to eliminate 80 percent of federal regulations has created a “false sense of security” for directors and officers, said Paul Schiavone, regional head of financial lines and liability for North America at Allianz.

Schiavone said the Trump administration’s withdrawal or suspension of hundreds of pending regulations creates uncertainty for executives.

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/09/14/turbulent-time-uncertainty-litigation-trump-dismantles-regulations/

Chad Hemenway, ‘Turbulent’ time, uncertainty for D&O litigation after Trump dismantles regulations (September 14, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Equifax Breach Draws Public Ire Over Sensitive Financial Info Hacked

Equifax, one of the nation’s three major data collection agencies, announced on Sept. 7 that hackers accessed the private information of about 143 million individuals, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and driver’s license numbers.

The firm learned of the breach on July 29, 2017. Regulatory filings show that three executives of Equifax —  John Gamble, chief financial officer, Joseph Loughran, US information solutions president, and Rodolfo Ploder, consumer information solutions president – sold a total of nearly $2 million in stock in early August. A representative of Equifax told various news outlets that the execs were unaware of the breach at the time of sale. Shares in Equifax dropped about 14 percent after the Sept. 7 breach announcement, per CNBC. A law firm in New York, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, announced it would launch an insider trading investigation into the execs’ sold shares.

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/09/11/equifax-breach-draws-public-ire-sensitive-financial-info-hacked/

Erin Ayers, Equifax breach draws public ire over sensitive financial info hacked (September 11, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.

Harvey Hits Texas Hard; Insurance Losses in ‘Low Billions’ Expected

Hurricane Harvey pummeled Texas, striking the coastline north of Corpus Christi as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 25 and wreaking havoc across Houston area. At least eight people have reportedly perished, with many more injured, as homes, businesses, and infrastructure experienced catastrophic flooding.

Ratings firms quickly offered predictions for the insurance impact of Harvey, with most suggesting that the insured losses are unlikely to match those of Hurricane Katrina or Superstorm Sandy. Economic losses are sure to be dramatically higher

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/08/31/harvey-hits-texas-hard-insurance-losses-low-billions-expected/

Erin Ayers, Harvey hits Texas hard; insurance losses in ‘low billions’ expected (August 29, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Professional Front Page News.

Recent Surveys Reveal Sorry State of Government Cybersecurity

Government entities at the state and federal level trail their private sector counterparts on cybersecurity, according to recent reports from security experts.

Surveys from SecurityScorecard and Netwrix found that government entities, a popular target for hackers, have far to go to properly guard against attacks. Compared to retail, healthcare, and transportation, government received among the lowest scores, rising over only education and telecommunications.

Read more at https://www.advisenltd.com/2017/08/29/survey-reveal-lagging-government-cybersecurity/

Erin Ayers, Recent surveys reveal sorry state of government cybersecurity (August 28, 2017), available with subscription at Advisen Cyber Front Page News.