AON launches cyber risk insurance
Thursday October 05 2017
Kenyan insurance companies are developing policies to protect firms from cybercrime losses. FOTOSEARCH
Insurance firms are now developing policies to protect companies from losses resulting from cyber attacks.
Insurance broker Aon Kenya has launched the Cyber Enterprise Solution — a property/casualty and internet of things insurance policy — to protect businesses from losses caused by cybercrime.
“Data is an organisation’s most valuable asset, but it is also its most vulnerable asset. However, as businesses and companies grow, so does their exposure to cyber risk. As the value of a business grows, it raises its profile among hackers,” said Aon Kenya chief executive officer Sammy Muthui.
The launch of the policy in Kenya is in response to the growing threat of cybercrime to corporates and small and medium enterprises, which have become the key targets for hackers due to the rise of financial technology and Internet banking, he added.
According to the 2017 Delloite Telecoms Media and Tech Trends report, Kenya lost $171 million — 0.28 per cent of GDP — to cybercrime in 2016, higher than the continent’s average of 0.07 of GDP.
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And an ICT security report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Communications Authority of Kenya revealed that up to 48.4 per cent of all government agencies reported data losses from cyber attacks, while at least 83 per cent of public institutions do not have mechanisms to detect intrusion.
“The threat of cyber-attacks to businesses is really huge as most companies don’t even know that they are under attack,” cyber security consultant Allan Lwala said, adding that the risk is high because policies that require businesses to disclose breach of their systems are inadequate.
In April, Kenya approved the Computer Cybercrime Bill, 2016, to handle 3,000 cybercrime cases reported every month. The Bill criminalises cyber offences such as illegal access to computerised systems, child pornography and computer related fraud, attracting fines of up to $200,000.