Think about getting a cyber cover if you have not already

Criminal activities carried out with the help of computer / electronic devices along with use of internet would qualify as cyber crime. It can be committed as a combination of either our failure to do something properly or the criminal overwhelms the system to gain access. For example - access-point weakness, negligence, confidential information, craze for sharing information, Malware/ Ransomware, among others.

Last few years have seen a quantum jump in cyber attacks on business enterprises and our awareness of the same due to frequent media attention. Cyber crime is happening at a phenomenal pace of half-a–million per minute!

Increased digitisation of personal and commercial finances has opened up billions of opportunities for the criminal minds. “Wanna Cry” and “Petya” are the latest in a series of cyber attacks this year, once again highlighting the urgent and continuous attention to the vulnerabilities of the IT systems of the all organisations. An entirely-new lexicon is created by the cyber world criminals. The more secure the systems, bigger the challenges are.

The omnipresent nature of internet has brought home the deadly exposure we all share to our assets, and our daily lives from cyber attacks. Indeed with talks of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things, matters are getting more complicated. Public memory being remarkably short lists some prominent cyber attack instances in the last two years.

For every one reported instance; there are hundreds more, which are going to remain under wraps. CERT-IN estimates only one in 20 events get officially reported in India. In a world completely driven by money, increased digitisation of monetary transactions, especially in India, has finally given the cyber criminal an easy gateway to make money swiftly- with minimum effort and faded footprints! Giridih District in Jharkhand has a “cyber zone” where more than 900 persons out of a 1,000 families are connected in phishing calls crimes! A recent expose in a leading daily showed the remarkable change in the life styles of these villagers.

Individuals should be more careful regarding passwords, phishing whishing calls /honey trap e mails offering bounties, careful operations at ATMs, follow the prescribed security rules and guidelines of the service providers as defined.

Corporate/financial institutions should have robust IT policy and risk-management system so that the important information is safe and secure. They should also look at cyber-risk insurance to minimise risk and mitigate losses from a variety of cyber incidents, including data breaches, business interruption, and network damage etc not to mention the ever looming threat of cyber extortion!

The writer is senior vice-president - general insurance, Anand Rathi Insurance Brokers