Complying with the Latest Cyber Insurance Standards

Today, companies face a completely changed landscape, with organizations required to demonstrate the ability to fend off ransomware attacks via a wide array of security controls.

Here are some of the specific requirements that insurance companies are now enforcing:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Administrative Access: This is a security measure that involves the use of multiple forms of authentication in order to access company resources. MFA is considered to be the most effective protection against account compromise, reducing the effectiveness of malicious access by 99%.
• Privileged Account Protection, including Service Accounts: Privileged accounts, particularly non-human service accounts used for machine-to-machine communication, are often targeted by attackers due to their low visibility as well as the fact that they are typically excluded from password rotation. Some insurance policies now require companies to have specific security measures in place to protect these accounts.
  
  
• Lateral Movement Protection: As the rate of ransomware attacks continues to soar, threat actors are increasingly making use of lateral movement to successfully spread payloads across an entire environment at once. Insurance companies are now requiring organizations to have specific security measures in place to protect against this type of attack.
  
  
• Real-time Monitoring and Alerting: In order to quickly respond to a potential attack, companies are now required to have real-time monitoring and alerting systems in place.
  
  
• Regular Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing: Insurance companies are now requiring companies to conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing in order to identify and address potential vulnerabilities in their systems.
  
  
• Network Segmentation and Micro-segmentation: Insurance companies also require companies to have a robust network segmentation strategy in place. Network segmentation isolates systems and data, making it harder for attackers to move laterally in the environment.
  
  
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): Having a security information and event management (SIEM) system in place can provide insurance companies the visibility and insights they need to detect and respond to security threats.
  
  
• Data Backup and Recovery: Insurance companies are now requiring companies to have regular backups of their critical data, and to be able to recover that data quickly in case of a security incident.
  
  
• Employee Security Awareness Training : Insurance companies are requiring companies to conduct regular employee security awareness training and testing programs to help employees understand the security risks and how to identify and report suspicious activity.
  
  
• Incident Response Planning: Insurance companies are requiring companies to have an incident response plan in place to manage security incidents, from detection to resolution.