Liability comes in a variety of forms — personal, physical, property, medical, commercial, general and auto just to name a few.
New risks are developing every day, many of which are associated with the global economy and technology.
Your insureds depend on you to help them manage and mitigate the many liabilities they face.
Several weeks ago, a series of online attacks on Domain Name Server provider Dyn Inc., blocked access to multiple sites on the East Coast, including Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Tumblr, Reddit and The New York Times.
The effort came in three waves and spread to sites on both coasts later in the day. The attacks used millions of malware infected devices, which some sources have identified to be primarily webcams, to create a high volume of deceptive traffic, preventing access from legitimate users to the sites. The unprotected internet-connected devices allowed an "internet of things" (IoT) botnet to hijack the devices.
The explosion of IoT devices complicates the ability of service providers to protect the vast array of networks. Unsecured devices make it easy for hackers to commandeer them for attacks that disrupt service for millions.
|Business interruption claims
The severity of the attack could lead to business interruption claims from Amazon, Netflix, PayPal and other e-commerce sites that were impacted. Once liability has been determined, it is also possible that some claims could be subrogated.
Hopefully one result of this attack will be to educate internet users on the importance of device and network security including the use of strong passwords, being more cautious when it comes to opening emails and clicking on links within them, and being aware of the risks inherent in IoT devices.
|Role of risk management strategies
For insurers, high-profile cyber events provide the opportunity to emphasize the role of risk management strategies such as employee training, creating a cyber response team, purchasing cyber insurance policies, and evaluating vulnerabilities before an attack occurs.
Managing risk in today's technology-driven environment really does take a village — especially because the attacks will come from so many different directions.
Patricia L. Harman is the editor-in-chief of Claims magazine. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @PattiHarman. Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own.
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