Companies in the financial sector, mainly banking and insurance companies, store sensitive information on their clients and policyholders – because of this, they’ve become the ideal target for hackers and some of the most vulnerable businesses to face cyber-attacks.
A recent series of attacks had rendered bank websites inaccessible for long stretches of time, and experts have said those incidents were more serious than initially realized. The government is now taking steps to inform and proactively support U.S. companies as they try to combat these risks.
This week, the NY State Department of Financial Services sent a survey to U.S. insurance carriers asking questions about any history of cyber-attacks in the last three years. The survey also asked about what safeguards they’ve implemented and how much money they’ve reserved for dealing with these issues.
Back in April, the FBI handed temporary security clearance badges to numerous U.S. banking executives, so they could attend a briefing on recent cyber-attack investigations and watch a classified video on "who was behind the keyboards." The extraordinary clearances had come after years of talk about the need for increased cooperation between the public and private sectors on cyber security.
Often times, companies resist communicating on this issue with federal authorities because it comes with too much exposure to investor and media scrutiny. Recent activity has prompted a broader effort made by the government to keep the lines of communication open with these potential cybercrime victims.
There are also others who have contributed to preventing future attacks. The U.S. has received recent international help with fighting cybercrime and sabotage. These measures may help convince affected companies to be more forthcoming and share knowledge with others to prevent future attacks.
In the actual event of a cyber-attack, companies can protect their assets with professional liability insurance coverage. More specifically, a Privacy/Network Security offers the right protection for this type of risk and can save businesses from any interruption in their daily operations or from paying out huge defense costs.
