Cybersecurity is paramount to preserving the financial integrity and consumer trust of insurance companies and the businesses and personal finances of policyholders. The 2024 Cybersecurity Benchmarking Survey by ACA Aponix and the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) asked compliance professionals what they perceive to be the top threats this year and found email phishing and ransomware top the list, as expected, but a growing threat to watch for is deepfakes. Businesses must ensure they have strong cybersecurity measures in place and implement best practices to avoid financial damages and losing consumers' trust. While large corporations are more apt to integrate cybersecurity into everyday interactions, smaller mom-and-pop businesses are not immune to cyberattacks and must also be prepared. One of the first steps in strengthening cybersecurity is using multi-factor authentication (MFA). "The simple feature is MFA is in place as well as utilized," says Dara Gibson, senior manager at Optiv. "Use that authenticator to make sure that you are validating who you are as you're signing in." Businesses need to build cybersecurity training and awareness programs into their plans so employees are aware of warning signs and know what to do when they get a phishing email and don't postpone software updates. The ACA and NSCP survey reports that 79% of compliance professionals are confident their firm can respond to a cyber breach quickly and effectively, but only 40% of their firms have tested their response plan, which suggests businesses are far more vulnerable to cybercriminals than they think. "When we were kids, we always practiced fire drills at our school," said Gibson. "You always know where to walk, how to move forward, and that's the same thing businesses need to do today, is truly practice those tabletops … if you've actually practiced it, then you have that ingrained in your brain." The slideshow above outlines the top cyberthreats for insurers and policyholders to watch for in 2024. Related: |

• Closing the gaps on cyber risks
• Cyber risks for insurers: There's a target on your back
• Ransomware-as-a-service tops evolving global cyber risks