London, UK (28 June 2017) Matthew Webb, Group Head of Cyber at specialist insurer Hiscox, comments on the ‘Petya’ ransomware attack:
“This incident is still evolving, but as is becoming increasingly clear, by its very nature the cyber threat is an international threat. It is indiscriminate in terms of the size or geographic reach of its targets and is a faceless crime, hidden behind the anonymity of the digital age. The motivations vary too – often, it is where money can be extorted, but another driver can be to cause as much disruption as possible.
“What’s clear is that even large companies such as those affected by this attack, which would typically have substantial IT security budgets, are not impenetrable. There is a commonality that exists across software and hardware as many businesses use similar systems which make global attacks possible, as we saw with WannaCry. Every business is a technology business these days and so we are unlikely to see the frequency of these attacks reduce.
“Even though the perpetrators have made little financial gain (which is unlikely to have been their primary motive in this campaign), there has been significant impact to those companies that have been affected by this incident.”
About Matt Webb
Matthew Webb is Group Head of Cyber at Hiscox, responsible for delivering the Group’s Cyber strategy and managing their cyber risk exposure. Matt began his career at Hiscox over ten years ago, most recently working as Product Head, managing the Technology account which provides insurance solutions for over 40,000 technology companies. Hiscox began writing cyber insurance in the late 1990s and currently sells specific cyber products through five of their seven business units. They have solutions for organisations of all sizes – from entrepreneurs to multi-nationals.
Matt not only focuses on refining and simplifying Hiscox products to better reflect customer’s needs; he also works with other insurers, brokers, industry bodies and government to promote the cyber insurance market. Matt has regularly been quoted in the insurance press as an authority on cyber as well as speaking at many events including PCI London, Fintech Week, ABI Data Conference, All Party Parliamentary Group for Insurance and Financial Services and the Insurance Times Cyber Insight conference.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Hiscox Ltd
Lucy Hensher / Abi Clark
+44 (0) 20 7448 6619 / +44 (0) 20 7448 6470
[email protected] / [email protected]
About The Hiscox Group
Hiscox is a global specialist insurer, headquartered in Bermuda and listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:HSX). Our ambition is to be a respected specialist insurer with a diverse portfolio by product and geography. We believe that building balance between catastrophe-exposed business and less volatile local specialty business gives us opportunities for profitable growth throughout the insurance cycle. It’s a long-standing strategy which in 2016 helped generate gross premiums written of £2,402.6 million and a record profit before tax of £354.5 million.
The Hiscox Group employs over 2,300 people in 13 countries, and has customers worldwide. Through the retail businesses in the UK, Europe and the US, we offer a range of specialist insurance for professionals and business customers as well as homeowners. Internationally traded, bigger ticket business and reinsurance is underwritten through Hiscox London Market and Hiscox Re and ILS.
Our values define our business, with a focus on people, quality, courage and excellence in execution. We pride ourselves on being true to our word and our award-winning claims service is testament to that. For more information, visit www.hiscoxgroup.com
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