Specialized insurance against digital attacks

BBVA activates specific policies to cover cyber risks, internal errors or malware to which companies are exposed

The digital transformation of the business fabric opens the door to new businesses, markets or customers, but also to new and dangerous risks.

Any company, from a bakery to a textile multinational, faces the threats of cyber attacks that arise in the digital environment, an ecosystem where being present is essential for any business.

Spain is the third country in the world that receives the most computer attacks. In 2016, 115,000 incidents were detected, of which 70% were directed against medium and small companies, which represents more than 80,000 victims at the enterprise level, according to data provided by the National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe).

The numbers that emerge from this reality are, in addition, increasing. According to Alan Abreu González, head of cyber risks at Hiscox Spain, an insurance company specializing in SMEs and self-employed workers, "we have registered a 1,700% growth in the number of cyber-related incidents handled during the last 5 years. And practically 100% of businesses, of any size, activity or country, are exposed to this hostile environment. "

Whether due to accidents caused by internal errors (such as an error) or external attacks (for example, by malicious software), the truth is that the data and systems of our company can be exposed and the business paralyzed, with the consequent losses economic, "advises Alan Abreu.

Covering these risks is one of the priority objectives of banking entities such as BBVA, which has different and complementary insurance products depending on the size of the company.

SMEs with a turnover of less than five million euros are the recipients of BBVA insurance that covers the economic damage caused by an incident in their information systems or in their computer resources. This product is managed with Hiscox.

"It does not matter if the event originated internally or externally, or if it was accidental or not. Faced with this situation, the insurance would assume the cost that could be generated, for example, by the paralysis or cessation of business, customer losses, reputation recovery, legal consequences and compensation for the publication of personal data and confidential information of third parties ", explain from Hiscox.

In addition, the cost of expert fees in computer security, legal or communication, among others if necessary, would be covered. This cybersecurity is registered in the catalog of cybersecurity companies and solutions of the National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe).

The most feared attacks by cybersecurity experts

  • Erroneous configurations of security in equipment, lack of technical or organizational measures that help to mitigate the risk.
  • Ciberterrorism and organized cybercrime.
  • Attaches access and authentication systems, which is a serious security problem, especially at the corporate level.
  • Data leak, understood as "the deliberate or involuntary release of confidential or sensitive information, to a medium or to people who should not know it". (Incibe)
  • Malware in general, and ransomware in particular (WannaCry type). They are malicious software whose main purpose is to damage computers or steal information. These could have already surpassed that of legitimate applications.
  • Social engineering, a practice in full expansion that consists of obtaining information through deception or manipulation of users. (Eg 'Phishing')
  • Proliferation of IoT (Internet of Things) that makes many more objects can connect to the network in an unsafe way.
  • Botnet, network of devices infected and controlled by organized cybercrime, used to carry out massive attacks.
  • Attacks that compromise the availability of business services (DDoS).
Date update on 2018-12-02. Date published on 2018-12-02. Category: hackers Author: Oscar olg Fuente: diariodesevilla
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