Many insurers and brokers are expecting demand for cyber insurance to increase this year. Now, a new report by The Geneva Association and the International Forum of Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools (IFTRIP), Mapping a Path to Cyber Attribution Consensus. This is the second in a cyber terrorism and cyber war (CTCW) series – providing insurers with a framework for attributing and characterising cyber incidents.
Businesses, governments and societies increasingly depend on interconnected online systems, making them vulnerable to viral cyber events and possible, large-scale disruption and destruction. Key factors in determining whether insurance will ultimately cover related losses include characterising such events (e.g. as war, terrorism, hostile cyber activity), which was the topic of our first CTCW report.
Our report finds, however, that international consensus on cyber attribution is currently lacking and there are many inconsistencies in the processes carried out by governments, their agencies and private organisations.
To address this, the report proposes:
- A step-by-step framework for carrying out the cyber attribution process.
- Ways to strengthen international collaboration towards establishing a widely-accepted international norm.
With this report, The Geneva Association and IFTRIP seek to propose a common approach to cyber attribution, both in terms of the actor and the behavior, thus promoting insurability. The final report in the CTCW series, on public-private solutions to CTCW risks, will follow in 2021.
It seems logical that if the threats are bigger year after year, the need of an insurance from cyber attacks is more requested. It’s like a great measure, no matter how you see it. Althought the best would see to invest in cybersecurity to the maximum, but this is a good plan b.