Knowing potential cyber threats can help your insurance company stop them in their tracks, saving them time and money, and protecting their reputation.
In this article, we will examine the importance of endpoint security for insurance companies and tips to protect their data.
WHY ENDPOINT SECURITY IS BENEFICIAL FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES?
Cybercriminals are shifting their attention to more vulnerable targets, such as insurance companies, now that other high-profile sectors have become more secure. Identity thieves can easily gain access to massive databases of personally identifiable information kept by insurers.
Organizations can keep such information about policyholders as names, birth dates, social security numbers, home addresses, employment data, email addresses, payment information, and others.
During the history of the healthcare system, Therm Healthcare holds the record for having had the biggest data breach. 78.8 million records were stolen from Anthem Healthcare in 2015, including names, addresses, and birth dates. A spear-phishing attack allowed hackers to access an insurer's systems by tricking employees into passing along usernames and passwords.
Anthem Healthcare sustained significant monetary damages as well as massive data loss. In addition to the $115 million Anthem had to pay to settle a class-action lawsuit, they had to pay almost $40 million in damages.
There's no denying the insurance industry is a highly attractive target for hackers due to its large database of personally identifiable information about policyholders. So, insurers need to adopt security measures to safeguard user data earlier rather than later.
TIPS TO ENSURE ENDPOINT SECURITY IN INSURANCE SECTOR
Below are some tips to ensure data protection in the insurance sector:
Perform regular risk assessment
Promote the security culture
Protect data on the endpoint
Design network firewalls
Create a robust security plan
Provide a secure communication channel
Use compliance profiles
Protect data on portable devices
CONCLUSION
In addition to regulations, cybercriminals view the insurance industry as one of their most tempting targets, both as a result of the amount of data it collects and because it can be used to commit fraud.
Phishing and social engineering are increasingly being used to target careless employees in these types of attacks that do not always exploit system vulnerabilities. When insurance companies are seeking to protect their data from both internal and external threats, it is obvious they need to consider internal as well as external threats.