New Technology Reviews!.: Insurance

E-Business Cyber Insurance

Every year, companies in America lose around $150 million in revenues because of computer crimes and breaches in computer security. These crimes include stolen information, destruction of data or networks, internet access abuse, viruses, spoofing and system penetration by outsiders. There are also active wiretapping and financial fraud, etc. Most of the people who steal information or hack data are ordinary people who are sometimes motivated by challenge to crack a system. Although there exists nowadays what we call firewalls to protect data from being stolen or destroyed, computer security is still insufficient.Therefore, there is an urgent need for Hacking Insurance. This is important to prevent companies from going into financial injury or network destruction. Especially in e-commerce business where computers are the basic instrument or device in business or sales, it is important to maintain security insurance because hacking activity is rampant these days.There are several insurance existing today for your protection. However, traditional insurance policies are mostly insufficient for the usual crime damages which are caused by computers. Usually, these insurance cover the protection of the physical assets but not the information assets. Cyber risk coverage is rarely offered. For traditional insurance companies, the terms like intellectual property infringement, computer fraud, employee dishonesty and advertising offences over the internet are not catered to. Moreover, these insurance do not recognize loss in business or shut down because of computer crimes done by hackers.There are several advantages in getting a hacking insurance. Insurance companies today are starting to identify and understand the impact of technology on businesses. They are able to open up and extend their coverage to online businesses or e-commerce risks.Starting in the year 2000, companies like Zurich Insurance Group, Lloyd's of London and American International Group's Net Advantage Program acknowledges the various e-commerce crimes. Examples of these crimes are cyber extortion, viruses, theft, infringement of copyright and trademark, destruction of data. These companies offer rewards for those who can catch these hackers and reimburse for post hacking crisis management. Because of this, many insurance companies are coming out with e-commerce protection packages. Some of the insurance companies who came out were INSUREtrust.com, Hamilton, Ace Ltd's information technology products, Okemos, etc.Because of hacking insurance, your business is safeguarded from possible damage caused by hackers. Since information is what gives the company competitive edge in the business world, it would be not good for the company if information is stolen or destroyed. This is why many insurance companies are now offering products for protection from viruses or network breaches.A good example of this is Chubb Corporation's 'cyber-security' policy where they provide comprehensive and complete coverage against fraud in e-communication, e-threat, e-libel, theft of data and information, destruction of e-services and many more. Many insurance companies are dealing the difficult issues like asymmetric information so that they can provide a more complete solution and protection coverage to the need of the client.Hacking insurance is an effective tool to improve your internet security. Today, cyber insurance products are offered by many insurance companies to meet the needs of e-businesses.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Tina L. Douglas is a well established author on the topic of ecommerce.For more advice and information on <a href="http://ecommercehostingreviews.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_new">ecommerce hosting reviews</a>, just click on the link.

E-Business Cyber Insurance

Every year, companies in America lose around $150 million in revenues because of computer crimes and breaches in computer security. These...

Hacker Insurance For E-Commerce Business

Computer crimes or computer security breaches cost American companies a whopping $150 millions in lost revenues every year. This includes theft of information, sabotage of data or networks, system penetration by outsiders, abuse of internet access, spoofing, viruses, financial fraud, active wiretapping, unauthorized insider access and theft of laptops, etc. These hackers could be amateurs simply motivated by challenge to crack a system, professional outsiders hacking to gain company information illicitly or an employee hacker. Despite firewalls, computer security is inadequate against hackers.Why Hacking Insurance is Necessary:Due to increased hacking activity and flawed security, companies incur high financial and network damages. It becomes very important to take insurance policy specifically covering damages against hackers or protecting e-commerce business.Drawbacks of Existing Insurance Plans:Traditional insurance policies are inadequate against most aspects of crime damages due to computers. Their coverage is based on physical assets, not information assets. They rarely can define cyber risk coverage and even if they do, the breach in security is excluded. Intellectual property infringement, content and advertising offences over the Internet, employee dishonesty and computer fraud are all 'Greek' terms for traditional insurance companies. They do not recognize business monetary loss, reduction or shut down due to computer crimes by hackers.Advantages of Hacking Insurance:Most insurance companies have come to terms to recognize the impact of technology on business in present circumstances. They have become more sensitive to online or e-commerce businesses risks and cover them adequately.Since 2000, a few companies like Lloyd's of London, Zurich Insurance Group and Chubb Insurance Group are beginning to cover the computer security breaches. American International Group's NetAdvantage Program addresses a host of e-commerce crimes like cyber extortion, content defamation, copyright and trademark infringement, viruses, theft, destruction or alteration of data. They offer rewards for apprehending hackers and reimburse for post hacking crisis management. Many specialty insurers have come to the forefront to offer e-commerce protection packages. INSUREtrust.com, Hamilton, Ace Ltd's information technology products, Okemos, Website Insurance& Security Program are some of the recent entrants in this field.The chief advantages are that some criminal behind the keyboard cannot destroy your business. Information gives companies a competitive edge in global economy. It can be disastrous for the company, if the information is destroyed or stolen or virus infected or divulged to competitors. Many insurers have started offering insurance products to protect company from network breaches or virus attacks.Chubb Corporation's 'cyber-security' policy provides comprehensive coverage against e-theft, fraudulent e-communication, e-vandalism, e-threat and impairment of e-services. Many cyber insurers are addressing the tough issues like asymmetric information, adverse selection and moral hazards and other risk domains to provide more comprehensive solutions and coverage.Cyber insurance is a potent weapon for improving Internet security. Cyber insurance products, now being offered by insurance firms, address the needs of e-businesses today.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Alexander Gordon is a writer for <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com/" target="_new">http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com</a> - The <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com" target="_new">Small Business Consulting</a> Community. Sign-up for the <a href="http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com/public/department30.cfm" target="_new">free success steps newsletter</a> and get our booklet valued at $24.95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.Business Owners all across the country are joining "The Community of Small Business Owners? to receive and provide strategies, insight, tips, support and more on starting, managing, growing, and selling their businesses. As a member, you will have access to true Millionaire Business Owners who will provide strategies and tips from their real-life experiences.

Hacker Insurance For E-Commerce Business

Computer crimes or computer security breaches cost American companies a whopping $150 millions in lost revenues every year. This includes...

Cyber Insurance - The New Way to Manage Digital Risk

Computer hackers stealing customers' credit card information are no longer just a threat to traditional technology and Internet companies. ChoicePoint, Polo Ralph Lauren and LexisNexis have captured headlines recently as victims of credit card theft. They're among the thousands of companies at risk from hackers breaking into their computer systems to take and abuse customers' personal information.These days, every company doing business over the Internet is at risk, whether the company is a huge software maker, a bricks-and-mortar retailer with a dot-com presence or a tiny retailer selling specialty crafts online.All businesses have private, critical information that's at risk. It could be anything from patents on intellectual property to customer social security numbers.Unfortunately for these companies - and their customers - many digital losses are not covered under traditional corporate insurance policies. Commercial general liability policies - in particular the personal injury and advertising injury coverages - now offer very limited coverage for many of the risks emerging from the widespread use of the Internet for commerce. In addition, policies covering damage to your own property, vandalism, business interruption, and dishonesty focus on tangible property but offer little protection for malicious programming (viruses) and for intellectual property - significant exposures for many companies. These policies typically offer very limited coverage for loss of computer data, regardless of how catastrophic or debilitating the loss.This leaves companies victimized by computer losses open to substantial financial damages - and the exposures are growing every day. Realizing this, a number of companies are seeking protection through a type of coverage loosely referred to as "cyber insurance." This insurance line has emerged over the past several years as a way for companies to hedge against lawsuits from customers whose personal information is stolen - or other lawsuits from customers alleging financial harm from misuse of digital information.Let's look at two examples:1. Fictional web site design firm "Web Design," which has 100 employees and $40 million in annual sales. Fictional client "Widget World" hires Web Design to design a Web site to sell products. In addition, Web Design creates a customized order package for Widget World to take orders online. The ordering software assesses tax on orders. Unfortunately, Widget World later learns it is not authorized to collect the tax and must refund the money to customers. The cost to Widget World is $250,000, which they decide to recover by suing Web Design. If that weren't enough, a Widget World competitor sues Widget World, claiming its website looks too similar to the competitor's Web site. Widget World then sues Web Design for trademark infringement. This used to be covered under Web Design's general liability policy but now excludes it. Cyber insurance typically provides this coverage.2. Fictional retailer decides to offer products to customers online with payment by credit card as an option. A hacker breaks through the security and obtains and sells private information on the credit cards and social security numbers of 300,000 customers. The retailer notifies its customers of the security breach, but is exposed to claims from customers for unauthorized use of their credit cards as well as potential identity theft. Traditional policies exclude this but coverage can be bought back through certain kinds of cyber insurance.Within the computer security industry, cyber insurance is gaining interest. A panel discussed it at the February 2005 RSA Conference and Expo, a leading security conference, in San Francisco. Many insurance companies now offer cyber insurance in one form or another. The coverage is evolving and pricing is improving as more companies express interest in the coverage and the industry sorts through new computer threats and the best ways to protect against them.Insurance companies offer varied products that protect against different kinds of threats or losses, including: Copyright and trademark infringement Misuse of intellectual property Negligent acts, errors, or omissions Failure to perform, breach of warranty or representation Libel, slander Invasion of privacy Denial of service or unauthorized access to, use of or introduction of malicious codes into data, software, systems or networks Although cyber insurance has been available for the past four or five years, many larger companies choose to self-insure this exposure. However, as it has become more affordable and the coverage has evolved, even some of the largest firms in this area have taken advantage of it.Premiums also vary based on the type of company being insured. A technology company, whose core business involves computers and the Internet, will pay more for cyber insurance than a company that only does 5 percent of its business over the Internet. For technology companies, the premiums are high in relation to other coverages. For example, cyber insurance may cost as much as 2.5 times the premium for directors and officers liability insurance and 25 times as much as general liability coverage for a small to mid-size technology company. It may be hard for such a company to swallow the relatively high cost of cyber insurance. But if the firm doesn't buy it, it could be gambling the entire company. If someone hacks into the company's computer system and misuses the information stored there, it could be potentially devastating.The process of obtaining cyber insurance offers other benefits. Before an insurance company grants coverage for cyber exposures, it often works with the company to assess the risk and evaluate controls, including security measures in place to avoid or mitigate losses. This can identify vulnerable areas and the need for improved controls. Insurers also work with the company to make sure the company is prepared to respond promptly to problems, contain losses and keep them from escalating, and finally, to pay claims from a catastrophic event. The priorities are loss prevention, claim mitigation, and loss payment.Companies who want cyber insurance will have to prove they: Have a formal privacy policy in place Have a policy governing whether and how they will sell or disseminate personal information Will be responsible for personal data such as health and financial information Have intellectual property rights clearance procedures for new and current employees Have a formal policy on how to respond to security breaches and other complaints, in addition to inaccurate, defamatory or troublesome content Have policies in place to protect users of chatrooms and bulletin boards Have a security plan and protocols in place that are updated routinely Have hired hackers to try to breach their security Are ensuring the quality of their products and that they comply with standards, maintain documents, have a customer notification plan, and a plan to recall and fix products Have planned for worst-case scenarios Higher deductibles for cyber insurance are common. It's important that the company being insured has some "skin in the game" so they'll help control the risk and keep losses from happening.Overall, having cyber insurance is part of a company's entire risk management effort, also known as "enterprise risk management." This involves looking at the business comprehensively and strategically to determine what can threaten a company's survival. Cyber-related losses could be so extraordinary that they would fall into this category. If a company does any significant portion of its business over the Internet - which includes selling products or services, communicating with employees or customers and exchanging information - it could be exposed to problems from people who want to cause havoc or harm.For these companies, cyber insurance offers tools for managing their digital risk.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Don Jenkins is Executive Vice President, Insurance for Baldwin Resource Group, a company that offers a broad range of professional services to companies, including risk management, insurance, business consulting, integrated health services and anti-terrorism consulting. To reach Don and learn more about Baldwin Resource Group, please go to <a href="http://www.baldwinrgi.com" target="_new">http://www.baldwinrgi.com</a>

Cyber Insurance - The New Way to Manage Digital Risk

Computer hackers stealing customers' credit card information are no longer just a threat to traditional technology and Internet compa...