Monthly Archives: February 2016

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Boards Are Failing at Cyber, New Report Finds

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SAN FRANCISCO—Information security executives are telling boards what they want to hear, not what they need to hear, and boards are frequently not asking the right questions or understanding the responses, according to a report released today by Bay Dynamics at the RSA Conference.

“The report reveals that both the board and security professionals are not doing their jobs when it comes to security reporting,” said Feris Rifai, co-founder and CEO at Bay Dynamics. “The board isn’t holding IT and security executives accountable for providing accurate, traceable and actionable information and security executives are failing to report information that is accurate, traceable and actionable. Both parties must do better if they want to make the right decisions that minimize their cyberrisk”.

While the majority surveyed say they know what to present to the board, only two in five IT and security executives feel that the information they provide to the board is actionable, and even fewer believe they are getting the help they need from the board to address cyber security threats. This may be in part because of the ongoing struggle to fully understand and measure cyberrisk exposure and the costs of failure.

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Just over half of boards expressed a strong preference for qualitative information, while 38% have a preference for quantitative data. To truly make appropriate decisions, however, the board must focus more on quantitative information in context, meaning qualitative information must be wrapped around quantitative information, the report explained.

Regardless of what information they provide, only a third of IT and security executives believe the board understands the information they are given about cyber threats. In turn, only 39% think they are getting the support they need from the board to address threats. Some other major issues these executives identified in their reporting included:

cyberrisk information reported to board

While 36% of boards want recommendations for additional spending and 34% want recommendations to reduce cybersecurity spending, boards are getting little data about the specifics of information security investments. The most common type of information reported about cybersecurity issues is known vulnerabilities within the organizational systems, followed by recommendations about cybersecurity program improvements and specific details on data loss incidents, Bay reported, while information about the cost of cybersecurity programs and details about expenditures on specific projects or controls are not as commonly reported.

cyberrisk information reported to board

Reporting is also relatively infrequent for such a rapidly evolving high-risk exposure, with most executives only presenting to the board quarterly, and 18% even less frequently.

reporting frequency

Looking forward, Bay Dynamics had the following suggestions for how both boards and IT and security executives can improve:

Issues the board must address:

  • The board is not doing its job when it comes to effectively managing cyberrisk.
  • Boards of directors must hold IT and security executives accountable for providing accurate, actionable information about their cyberrisk to help the board make effective decisions about their cybersecurity programs.
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    Boards cannot make decisions about what they consider acceptable risk if they don’t have actionable information.

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  • Boards must demand actionable information from IT and security executives about their cyberrisk since the board is responsible for the company’s risk appetite. Strengthening their cyberrisk program begins with the board.

Issues IT and security executives must address:

  • IT and security executives must communicate to their boards more effectively and more completely using quantitative and qualitative information. They should communicate the value of data at risk using numbers that explain what it is and how to take action to protect it.
  • Given that board members in many organizations are typically less technical than the IT and security executives reporting to them, the latter must contextualize the information in order to make it both understandable and actionable.

Driverless Cars Not a Concern, Allstate Says

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Driverless car

Driverless cars are becoming more of a reality, with testing in full swing by Google and others, and software upgrades underway for existing models of Tesla cars. One industry that will be impacted by larger number of safe vehicles on the road is the auto insurance industry. One insurer, Allstate, is carefully following the progress being made, but emphasized safety over possible diminishing profits. In its annual report for 2015, Allstate wrote:

Consider what is happening with autonomous cars. Today, only modest levels of driver-assistance technology are available, and only on a limited set of vehicles. However, the technology for fully autonomous cars is advancing rapidly and the legal and regulatory framework will follow. At some point, the fleet of a quarter-billion vehicles could be smaller and will include technologically sophisticated vehicles that are safer, more effective and efficient. Fewer, safer cars would benefit consumers and the environment, but could affect demand for auto insurance.

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The financial squeeze that autonomous cars could put on the insurance industry has been expected for years, The Chicago Tribune noted. In 2012, financial technology consulting firm Celent published “A Scenario: The End of Auto Insurance: What Happens When There Are (Almost) No Accidents?

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”

While Allstate states that demand for auto insurance could diminish, it points out that this is not a concern. “Some industry participants are waiting to see how this will play out. Allstate is not,” the insurer said, adding:

We are moving forward into uncertainty rather than wait. Throughout our history, Allstate has led from the front on auto safety—for example, as an early proponent of seat belts and air bags. We support the introduction of new driver-assistance technology that makes driving safer, because this is about saving lives and protecting the hopes and dreams of those who depend on us. We are confident Allstate will thrive in whatever new world emerges because of a differentiated strategy, strong brands, passionate agency partners and committed employees. Preparations for a new and different future are well under way.

Lance J. Ewing, hospitality and leisure industry practice group leader with AIG, previously told Risk Management magazine, “With more than five million vehicle accidents in the U.S. resulting in over 30,000 deaths, any enhancement is welcome, but there may be collateral results from the driverless highways.”

How to Cut the Cost of Your Workers Comp Insurance

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You can control the cost of your organization’s workers compensation insurance by knowing a few insider tips used by workers compensation cost control specialists.

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What follows are two proven methods to reduce the cost of this vital insurance to the absolute minimum.

Your Experience Modification

Most employers accept the experience modification as an absolute number, with few options to improve. That is a mistake that can cost large sums of money and put the
employer at a competitive disadvantage.

Here is how you can improve your ex-mod. Begin by obtaining a copy of your Experience Rating Worksheet.

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This document contains the payrolls, claims, and other factors that make up the ex-mod. You should have received a copy of the worksheet in the mail, but if you did not, it is available from your insurance agent or broker, direct from the insurer, or by ordering a copy from the NCCI in Boca Raton, Florida.

With that worksheet in hand along with an up-to-date loss run, check the following: Make certain the claims that have been charged to the ex-mod under the column labelled “Act Inc Losses” belong to your firm. We have seen firms charged for claims that belong to someone else, so it is a good idea to confirm that your ex-mod contains only your company’s claims.

Be aware of your loss valuation date and make certain that every claim poAuditssible is closed before that date. Generally, the date is six months before the ex mod becomes effective. Otherwise, your ex-mod might include an open claim reserve that was settled. Remember, you can request the insurer’s claims adjuster to close claims before the loss valuation date.

Confirm that the insurer has correctly determined and deducted “loss adjustment expenses” from incurred losses. These are the insurer’s expenses and should not be charged to you. Finally, check the payrolls and confirm that the amounts used correspond with the underlying audits.

Get the most from classifications

Know that, in general, premium auditors are not permitted to add new classifications. While this is contrary to procedures followed by several large insurance carriers, provisions within the policy and elsewhere require that, if a class code is to be changed, it must be changed by the underwriter and not the auditor.

Also, in the case of contractors, they may allocate the payrolls of construction employees to different classifications of work, provided that the contractor keeps contemporaneous records that support the payroll allocation. They should preemptively discuss how to set up the payroll records with the insurer’s audit department so that wages are assigned to all the eligible classifications.

Another premium saving suggestion is to prepare a pre-audit before the annual audit. In completing its annual premium audit, the insurer works from the records that you provide. Help make the auditor’s job more accurate by completing your own audit. Make certain that the prepared payrolls take into account all the credits, limitations, and deductions available. Many auditors will accept your prepared work as their own.

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Finally, when the audit is complete, request a copy of the auditor’s worksheets, review the worksheets with him or her and discuss how employees were classified. Then, when the final invoice arrives, be sure to compare it to those worksheets.

Galaxy Quest: Assessing Space Commercialization

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Student-space
If a bunch of kids can launch a satellite into space, why can’t you?

As reported by the Washington Post, seventh-graders at St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington, Texas are the first grade school students to send a satellite into orbit. The CubeSat – built by the children – was launched into space and will begin beaming photos from 200 miles above the Earth’s surface to an antenna on the school’s library.

This learning experience is remarkable for the kids, but what does it mean for the future of commercial industries in space? While commercialization of space tourism and satellite technology is already happening, is this emerging risk something that industries can afford to overlook?

The Space Foundation’s 2015 “The Space Report” found that commercial activities in space continue to increase and now make up 76% of the global space economy. The report adds that revenue from commercial space products and services was dominated by direct-to-home television services, making up more than three-quarters of the global commercial space products and services market.

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Space budgets

Allianz published an article that outlines some of the challenges of space insurance and space risks, from the pre-launch phases to in orbit operations and satellite insurance.

“Losing a spacecraft is by far not the only risk,” the article points out. “Potential interruptions of a satellite’s service in our globalized work are just as problematic for spacecraft users, individual transponders users such as TV channels and Internet providers, but also for banks, car manufacturers and large industries that use telecommunications networks.”

According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA / AST) Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2016, “The size of the global space industry, which combines satellite services and ground equipment, government space budgets, and global navigation satellite services (GNSS) equipment, is estimated to be about $324 billion. At $95 billion in revenues, or about 29%, satellite television represents the largest segment of activity.”

The report highlights the progress China has made with its space program, noting the number of orbital launches conducted by the country has steadily increased each year since 2010, with a peak of 19 launches in 2012. The findings highlight China’s commitment to commercial space applications, specifically stating that the data “points to a robust future in Chinese spaceflight.”

For many industries, the idea of planning for the risks involved in a space expansion might seem too far off to devote resources. But, with commercial airliners, telecommunications companies, international markets like China and even a bunch of seventh-graders already investing in opportunities in space, it might be time to reconsider the possibilities and the risks.

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