In the modern world, cybersecurity and cyber insurance go hand in hand. As we head into the future and the presence of AI in every part of your life grows, so will the responsibilities that need to be taken to ensure security and peace of mind regarding your data and personally identifiable information. As the relatively new cyber insurance industry gets on its feet, it will become more accessible to everyday life, and that trend is already emerging.

Privileged Access Management (PAM) enables organizations to address core controls needed to qualify for many cyber insurance policies. It’s important for organizations to be insured and mitigate the potential impact of a breach, and PAM is a critical part of any risk management strategy. In this blog, we’ll take a look at how organizations can satisfy common cyber insurance requirements with PAM, and the security benefits doing so offers.

Even with the best strategies in place, cyber professionals understand that it’s only a matter of when, not if, a cyberattack will happen. Hence, a risk management and incident response plan is necessary for an organization’s cybersecurity posture. While such plans won’t wipe out the financial and reputational aftermath of a cyberattack — a cyber insurance policy can help your organization recover from such attacks.

The cyber insurance market has matured rapidly over the past two years in the face of ever-evolving risk. Factors such as increased ransomware activity, ballooned claims frequency and loss severity, coupled with soaring market demand have brought us to what is referred to as the “second wave” of cyber insurance — a revolution in the way businesses are evaluated, underwritten and protected.

Cyber insurance is an increasingly critical part of an organization's approach to cyber defense and CISOs have realized that identity management and, in particular, Privileged Access Management (PAM) are some of the most important and influential aspects of any organization’s overall cybersecurity strategy.

As government-sponsored and widespread vulnerability attacks continue to result in larger damages, cyber insurers are looking for opportunities to still meet demand without incurring risk. It may come as a surprise, but cyber insurers aren’t in the business of issuing (and covering) cyber insurance policies; they’re in the business of staying in business. And that means identifying and reducing the highest sources of risk where the insurer will lose through paying on claims.

Cyber insurance is the fastest-growing sector of the world’s insurance markets. But, a recent increase in ransomware attacks and business email compromises has led to a sharp uptick in claims, resulting in significant losses for cyber insurers and increased premiums. Cyber insurance customers need a way to increase their cyber resilience, reduce premiums, and improve their cyber postures.

Cyber risk is everywhere. From credential theft to misconfigurations to vulnerabilities and even phishing attempts, there are cybercriminals poking and prodding at organizations from every angle. This means that organizations not only need to up their cybersecurity, but they also need to think about it in terms of risk and how to holistically mitigate that risk — from identifying threats to protecting against them and responding to them.

Food for thought as discussed on May 18, 2023, an article posted in The Australian Insurance Council: Banning paying a ransom to cyber hackers is counter-productive where Andrew Hall, the Chief Executive of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), stated that “attempts to ban businesses from paying ransoms for cyber attacks risks eroding trust and relationships with government.”

A new report highlights the direct connection between how strong your organization’s security stance is and how easy it is to obtain cyber insurance. Like any insurance policy, the insurer has figured out the indicators of risk and includes a form of assessment when considering issuing you a policy. When you want to obtain car insurance, they ask about your driving record, where you live, and even what your credit score is – all to determine how much of a risk you are.