David Behr, CEO, MTN Converged Solutions

Although today’s increasing cybersecurity threats are driving the need for insurance, getting cyber insurance is not as easy as it seems. There are companies that will find it difficult to get cover, due to the nature of their businesses and industry sector, reiterating the need for having the most robust cybersecurity infrastructure in place to prevent breaches.

David Behr, CEO of MTN Converged Solutions says “There are companies that will find getting insurance a challenge, such as in the financial services, retail and healthcare arenas, where the data they possess makes them attractive targets, and thus at high exposure to cyber risk.”

These are joined by technology companies, software developers, and IT service providers – targeted for their intellectual property, customer data, and potential access to other organisations’ systems; and government agencies, public utilities like energy, water, transportation, telecommunications and other critical infrastructure targeted for their sensitive data, national security implications, and the potential to disrupt essential services.

Despite the expensive premiums and widely varying policy terms and conditions, demand for basic and comprehensive cyber insurance policies has surged and I see global demand for cyber insurance doubling in the next five years. Local companies may have to seek specialised insurance from specialist cybersecurity insurers overseas – especially those considered high-risk targets.

An attack can have multiple repercussions. Investing in cyber insurance can be more cost-effective than dealing with the aftermath of a cyber incident when you have no coverage. The financial impact of a cyber incident can be substantial, including costs related to reputational damage and business interruption. This is particularly true in the case of Small and Medium Enterprises who are potentially not fully aware of the risks involved and leave themselves open to targeting from cyber criminals,” says Behr.

“I also see more insurance entrants teaming up with cyber experts, which makes sense. Forming a unified solution to monitor security posture helps organisations manage their risk by evaluating risks from people and applications, exchanging risk data with partners, and enforcing automated risk controls at scale,” comments Behr. Behr stresses the importance of knowing the fine print, saying that policies can be customised and will differ, with certain exclusions in place. A cyber insurance policy may not simply provide blanket cover of such costs as legal fees, digital forensics and data recovery, public relations or the cost of a ransomware demands.

However, insurance protection can include, for example, data lifecycle and records management tools that help organisations meet their legal, business, privacy, and regulatory obligations, or a service that can detect and mitigate malicious payloads and bots using risk models backed by machine learning.

“Cyber insurance does encourage organisations to adopt better cybersecurity practices and controls, reducing the overall risk of cyber incidents,” continues Behr. “It also helps organisations understand and quantify their cyber risks, leading to more informed decision-making. By assessing potential vulnerabilities and threats, organisations can better prepare for and mitigate the impact of cyber incidents.”

MTN, in partnership with Microsoft, offer data-driven products allowing customers to safely share security posture information through platforms like Microsoft 365 and Microsoft security solutions. Security Exposure Management, for example, empowers organisations to build an effective exposure management programme with a continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) process, and risk posture management solutions help organisations detect and adapt to suspicious activity.

“MTN and Cloudflare’s Unified Risk Posture suite converges capabilities from their Secure Access Services Edge (SASE) and web application and API (WAAP) security portfolios, providing organisations – from the particularly vulnerable SMEs up to large enterprises – with built-in risk management functionality that can be customised to their specific needs and budgets,” concludes Behr.

Visit MTNBusiness.co.za to find out about the MTN security offerings to assist your business in assessing and mitigating cyber risks.

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