The Big Target on Cyber Insurers' Backs

The Big Target on Cyber Insurers' Backs

Here at IntSights, a Rapid7 company, our goal is to equip organizations around the world with an understanding of the threats facing them in today's cyber threat landscape. Most recently, we took a focused look at the insurance industry — a highly targeted vertical due to the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) these organizations hold. We've collected our findings in the “2022 Insurance Industry Cyber Threat Landscape Report," which you can read in full right now.

While conducting this research, one key takeaway caught my eye: the big target on cyber insurers' backs. Some of these organizations provide cyber insurance coverage for businesses, so in the event of a breach that imposes significant costs on a targeted business, that business is not 100% financially liable.

According to our cyber threat intelligence research, cyber insurance providers are even more appealing targets for bad actors in an industry already full of appealing targets. That begged the question: Why are cyber insurers so highly targeted? And what can they do to protect themselves in the face of these threats?

Cyber insurance providers are data goldmines

Typically, bad actors are angling to breach insurance companies to access PII or to collect policyholder details that they can use for insurance fraud. However, when hackers target cyber insurers, they're seeking even more specific types of data, such as cyber insurance policy details and information outlining the security standards cyber insurance clients follow.

Why is this the case? A ransomware operation could, for example, leverage this information to build a list of potential targets covered under a cyber insurance policy. Some cyber insurance providers will pay an insured victim's ransom, and ..

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