CSC announces the establishment of the Insurance Cybersecurity Advisory Council for property & casualty insurers to facilitate the development of best practices and technology strategies that effectively mitigate the risk of cyber attacks on the insurance industry.

The council made up of business and IT executives representing a cross-section of insurance companies—with life & annuity insurers as well—will collaborate with CSC to promote awareness and information sharing throughout the industry. The council's first meeting is slated for January 2012 inWashington,D.C.

Insurers, agents, brokers and consumers are increasingly embracing mobile devices and applications, social networking, and cloud computing, all of which provide opportunities for achieving higher levels of business performance through enhanced productivity, collaboration, and agility. At the same time, these new technologies can leave insurers vulnerable to cybersecurity threats—both from inside and outside of the organization. If not addressed, these threats can have a devastating impact on a carrier's reputation and ability to operate and generate revenue.

"While insurance companies are benefiting from the digitization of their businesses, they also face new risks such as a potential tarnished reputation, fraud, intellectual property theft, business disruption, increased regulatory scrutiny or persistent threats such as cyberespionage," says Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Insurers must assess the maturity of security and enterprise risk management programs and their ability to effectively defend against today's andtomorrow's cyber-risks."

"By forming the insurance industry's first Cybersecurity Advisory Council, we will be the catalyst for best-practice sharing and development of technology solutions to address this growing concern," says Ray August, president of CSC's Financial Services Group. "Shareholder and consumer confidence, along with a requirement to pass increasingly complex audit procedures, rely on a company's ability to safeguard intellectual property and customer data. The council's industry leaders will work together to identify the evolving cyber protection needs for insurance, define the most effective ways to combat cyber threats and educate the industry about the need for prevention."

CSC's cybersecurity capabilities include a worldwide infrastructure of Security Operations Centers; Common Criteria Test Laboratories in theUnited States, Europe and theFar East; and a global cyber strike-force team to respond to cybersecurity incidents and provide cyber forensics training and analysis.

Specific offerings cover vulnerability analysis and penetration testing, data loss prevention services and a full range of managed security services. CSC's nearly 2,000 cyber professionals serve commercial clients and public sector enterprises globally, including civilian departments and agencies, and defense organizations.