There’s no shortage of money or technological tools being devoted to support cyber risk management at most financial services institutions, yet insurers are still struggling to stay ahead of the proliferating ranks of hackers looking to steal money or information, disrupt operations, or destroy critical infrastructure.

Indeed, basic blocking and tackling strategies to lock down devices, systems, and platforms remain a work in progress because of the increasing pace of attacks, the growing sophistication of threat actors, as well as multiplying, often conflicting demands facing chief information security officers (CISOs).

Cyber risk management challenges

Part of the problem is that CISOs and the business executives they work with are being challenged to become more agile and provide a frictionless customer experience at a time of technological transformation spurred by fintech, mobile applications, cloud adoption, and other emerging developments. The demands of the CISO’s job have expanded exponentially as cyber risk management plays a much higher-profile role in both security and business development.

To learn more about these challenges and how companies are coping with them, the Deloitte Center for Financial Services interviewed senior cybersecurity, technology, and risk management specialists from across the industry, including a number of prominent insurers. They shared cyber war stories from the front lines, citing a wide variety of obstacles and frustrations. But they also pointed toward the progress they’ve made and the plans they have in place to transform their thinking, approaches, and organizational culture going forward.