Aspen Insurance, the insurance segment of Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited, has launched a cyber risk management platform that, it said in a statement, it developed to “assist clients in the prevention and detection of, and response to, privacy and network security incidents.”
According to Aspen, the platform includes existing components of Aspen Insurance's Apex insurance policy and incident response capabilities, with added and differentiating pre-incident services at no additional cost. Aspen added that its cyber insurance clients now would benefit from this “one-stop, holistic solution.”
Josh Ladeau, Aspen Insurance's global head of tech errors and omissions and cyber, said the new platform “is more than insurance. Customers enjoy a comprehensive breadth of services, ranging from data leakage identification, to zero day protection and vendor assessment. Most importantly, our dedicated team of legal, privacy, and network security professionals are actively involved in the evaluation and implementation of these solutions that are only available to Aspen's U.S.-domiciled, primary cyber policyholders.”
Aspen said that, designed and managed by Aspen's in-house certified information system security professionals (“CISSPs”), the new platform combines secure systems and information management principles with the benefits of loss experience. The new platform, Aspen added, allows clients to leverage Aspen's expertise for streamlined access to such complimentary, third-party services as:
- A web-based portal to assess cybersecurity posture;
- Microsoft Office 365 security auditing to evaluate existing configuration, identify solutions, and prioritize actions;
- Resource access to develop and improve organizational controls (e.g., policy templates, security training videos, and loss calculation tools);
- External network scanning to identify security risks for clients and their third party vendors;
- Domain name system (“DNS”) threat intelligence and tools to help enforce web access policy compliance and provide web usage analytics;
- 24/7 endpoint monitoring to identify malicious activity, perform related forensic analyses, and accelerate incident response; and
- A web-accessible screening tool to uncover data leakage associated with recently accessed files and USB ports
Mr. Ladeau added, “Cybersecurity isn't just an IT problem and spans beyond reducing organizational risk. It is a business problem that requires cultural integration and a genuine investment by leadership. Business leaders, who acknowledge this and accept responsibility for addressing cyber security head-on within their organizations, will enjoy a competitive advantage in the long term.
“For the insurance industry, carriers that are able to optimize risk management services and offer in-house, technical expertise will be best positioned to capture market share. Agents and brokers should consider these factors when comparing the value Insurers bring to their clients and the cyber insurance market in general.”
Learn more: www.SSIMPLE.com.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].