(Bloomberg) -- Tom Ridge, the first homeland security chief under President George W. Bush, says companies face more risk of cyber attacks similar to those that struck JPMorgan Chase & Co., Home Depot Inc. and Target Co.
Speaking at a briefing in London today, Ridge whose new company has teamed up with Lloyds of London to offer cyber attack insurance, said the risks had been accentuated by the “extraordinary breaches” at JPMorgan and two of America’s largest retailers.
“What we have seen is the sophistication of these attacks continue to elevate,” said Ridge, 69, chairman of Ridge Insurance Solutions Company. “Who would have thought that JPMorgan with its security budget could be hacked into. Now a lot of people are thinking if it could happen to them, it could happen to us too.”
JPMorgan last week outlined the scope of the previously disclosed data breach, revealing that 76 million households and 7 million small businesses had been affected in one of the largest cyber-attacks on record. Home Depot confirmed a security breach in September that compromised 56 million payment cards, while an attack on Target last year affected as many as 110 million shoppers.
“It takes companies some time before they know the depth of an invasion,” said Ridge, who was appointed by former President Bush to oversee U.S. domestic security after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “After Home Depot and Target a lot of the companies are starting to look at cyber very differently.”
Ridge approached Lloyds in February to offer the insurance product that he says is unique to the market by providing both cyber assessment and insurance.
The company is initially targeting businesses with market value of as much as $500 million that represent about 80 percent of all U.S. publicly listed companies and that he says are most vulnerable to attacks. Insurance policies of as much as $50 million each are available from today, according to a statement. The company expects to generate $40 million in premiums in the first 18 months.
Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
