7 March 2018Insurance

Cyber driven business interruption threatens energy sector

Energy executives are increasingly concerned about the impact of cyber-attacks on their operations, according to insurance broker Marsh.

Over three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents to a survey cited business interruption (BI) as the most concerning consequence of a cyber-attack for the energy industry.

The report looks at the most concerning cyber loss scenarios for energy executives, the industry’s understanding of cyber exposures, and how organisations plan to manage these risks in the future.

Despite more than half of energy executives naming cyber as a top-five risk, 54 percent of energy executives have not quantified or did not know what their worst possible loss exposures could be.

Of the energy executives participating in the survey, 26 percent said they were aware that their company had been victim to a successful cyber-attack in the past 12 months.

The energy industry plans to invest more in cyber risk management, with 77 percent of energy executives surveyed saying their organisations will increase levels of investment in cyber risk management, while 26 percent plan to purchase or increase their cyber insurance.

“As the energy industry relies more on interconnectivity as a result of greater digitalisation, the potential for cyber-attacks to cause severe disruption to operations, loss of data, and, consequently, high financial losses, should be a key concern for energy executives,” said Andrew Herring, EMEA energy and power practice leader.

“While it is encouraging that three-quarters of respondents plan more investment in cyber risk management, it is worrying that over half questioned have yet to quantify their exposures. For those firms that have not put plans in place to mitigate and manage attacks or have not measured their cyber exposure, now is the time to take steps to be prepared for the impact an attack could have on their operations and systems.”

Join us at Intelligent Automation in Insurance - London 2018. Spring Special:  Book before the March 31st and save £200. 

More of today's news

XL Group benefits from acquisition by AXA

New CEO, CUO for Canopius managing agency

AXA at risk of downgrade post XL acquisition

Reinsurance cost rise 33% for Esure due to Ogden change

Commercial cyber liability premium to reach $6.2bn by 2020: Verisk

Former Beazley A&H head joins insurance underwriting Avoca

Excel in Business to hold free digitization event in London

Don't miss our insurtech email newsletter - sign up today

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Insurance
7 March 2018   The written premium for the commercial cyber liability market is estimated to reach $6.2 billion by 2020 with annual take-up rates growing 20 to 30 percent during the next years, according to a report by data analytics provider Verisk.
Insurance
26 March 2018   Recent reports highlighted the growing threat of cyber-attacks and data breaches to the energy sector, and underscore the growing need for protection, according to rating agency AM Best.
Insurance
21 June 2018   The world is changing at an increasingly fast pace, Mark Anquillare, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Verisk, told delegates at the opening of the Verisk Risk Symposium in London today.