b'DAYTODAYINSURANCE SOLUTIONSBrian MerriamCyberRisk A deeper dive into digital protectionA t the most recent Citygate Network con-Develop cyberpolicies and procedures ference, the Insurance Commission met(accounts payable, HR, etc.). to identify some of the most serious risks Conduct a cyber-risk assessment to identify that the membership faces, and cyberthreat wasvulnerabilities or exposures. identified and extensively discussed. Here is a deeper dive into this Identify who has access to your network. issue. Look for a Review and implement cybersecurity measures, white paper on thissuch as Multifactor Authentication. topic to be posted on Citygate Networks Purchase cyberinsurance. website as well.Review services provided by your insurer. In the November/ December issue of Identify and appoint a Breach Coach. Instigate, I highlighted Review insurers vendor panel (Legal, Forensic, some things yourPR, Crisis Management). organization can do to Develop an incident response plan and test it. mitigate the pending cost increases that youThe essential matter here is to take cyber-risk will likely be seeing in this next insurance renewalseriously before an event occurs. Insurance cycle, but of great importance is a discussion oncompanies offer many great services, but once what can be done to avoid a cyberevent in the firstan event has occurred, it will be difficult to get a place. So important is this topic that top U.S.reasonably priced insurance program to establish national security advisers gathered with officialssuch a partnership. Therefore, it is imperative that from 30 countries this past October to discussyou first have the protocols in place to stop (or at how to combat the growing threat of ransomwareleast greatly lessen) an event so that once you apply and other cybercrimes. Of 1,200 executives whofor coverage, an insurance company is willing to Brian is area senior vice presi participated in the 2021 Travelers Risk Index sur- come to the table and thereby offer you the services dent of The Merriam Group vey, 25 percent said their companies had already a Gallagher company, and thebeen a cybercrime victim, up 150 percent fromfor the eventual day when you will be a victim. official insurance consultant forAgain, for further information on this, check Citygate Network. The Merriam2015. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed saidout Citygate Networks website for additional Group offers property, casualty,they worry about cybercrime.resources, but do this now, before your organiza-auto, directors and officers, andSo what are some best practices that your workers compensation cover tion is the next one to appear in the press with ages tailored to the needs oforganization should implement? the story of an event involving data corruption, Citygate Network members. Train employees to recognize phishing emailspersonal information theft, or a large ransom You can email Brian at brian_merriam@ajg.com. (social engineering, ransomware, etc.).demand. \x0356 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022'