Banks, insurance companies, financial institutions and accountancy companies are required to have in place a robust data security strategy and comprehensive internal controls.
Organizations in this sector are by their very nature a magnet to hackers. Being ready for, and managing this treat – while providing a compelling customer experience can be an incredibly challenging and daunting task – but it doesn’t have to be. Insurance businesses for example, by their very nature, are there to protect customers from a wide range of risks – whether it’s for property, health, vehicles or any other potential hazard that customers are wishing to protect themselves against.
For insurance companies themselves, it is important that they too assess the risks that have the potential to impact their organizations. Particularly given the fact that insurance companies are under a great deal of regulatory scrutiny – for example, in the UK, insurers are regulated by not one but two bodies (the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority). Both of which have regulations in place to ensure firms are financially secure and provide an appropriate degree of protection to customers.
Given the great deal of sensitive customer data that insurers handle, the security of that data is a major priority and therefore mitigating the risk of frauds or hacks – from external and internal sources – is key. Particularly when you take into account latest industry figures that show the insurance industry is facing significant pressure from incidences of reporter frauds.
