Be Cyber Aware at Sea issued its September Phish and Ships edition discussing silent cyber, its definition and its impact; Thus, Sharif Gardner, Head of Training and Advisory Services, Axis, provides an insight into the dangers behind silent crime in the sector.
Many time companies think of a bolt on to a property of liability policy without realizing that this approach may result in coverage gaps. Silent Cyber can be found as a term in the cyber insurance market.
According to Sharif Gardner, the cyber insurance market is new and sometimes not easy to understand as part of the insurance industry. Therefore, it is important to educate the industry, so that companies and people get a better insight into how standalone cyber policies can cover residual risk properly.
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In some cases when one is not buying a product specifically designed for their industry, the policy does not protect them in the expected way; In the same way, insureds do not buy a cyber insurance policy, but they buy property policies. This results to barriers when claims arise as some insurers may not have the resources or knowledge to address them.
Cyber-specific insurers are more established and able to address the specific nuances of cybersecurity, whereas most property underwriting teams are often not.
In the meantime, the non-cyber policies, which are tempting but not fruitful, do not provide the protection needed for the shipping industry. To better deal with a cyber attack, it is important to assess and price the risk accordingly, so that claims will be able to respond. The insurers who write cyber are pricing for risk, enabling the existence of the cyber insurance market.
Brokers and buyers should understand “silent cyber” and the option of purchasing cyber insurance
… Gardner highlights.
The regulatory field of the marine sector is keeping up with silent cyber, such as both PRA and Lloyds. The latter have both stated that insurers should have plans to reduce their silent cyber exposure. In the meantime, a deadline has been set so that after January 1 all first-party property policies affirm or exclude cyber cover.
For the time being, despite the education and knowledge on the cyber matter, the reality is that the majority of the shipping industry lacks IT security and the resources to deal with cyber attacks.
Recently, the UK National Cyber Security Centre launched an infographic summarizing a 10-step-guide for organisations to protect themselves in cyber space.