Kenya Kenya Ken yaCyber Cyber Cyb erSecurity Securi Sec Security urity tyReport Report Report2015 2015 2015 Cybersecurity Perspective from the Insurance Sector George Kisaka | Head of ICT Audit, Britam Insurance Cybercrime Assurance Rather Than Insurance C ybercrime is not a foreign Partnerships between insurers and the thing anymore and regional traditional banking sector in offering governments have finally woken insurance cover, under the Bancassurance and reputation costs among other up to this realization. In the last year model, was just the beginning and the things in case a company is attacked. there have been efforts to review notable trend in the Kenyan insurance Currently, cybercrime insurance is mostly legislation and draft bills or set up industry now is undoubtedly mergers sold in developed countries due to the government agencies and task forces to and acquisitions (M&A). The trend is as a complex underwriting and management confront it. The Cybercrime and Computer result of the search for growth and the it requires. Locally, uncertainty still Related Crimes Bill 2014 in Kenya and upcoming regulations raising capital exists on whether insurers have built the Cyber Crime Act 2015 in Tanzania are requirements within the industry and has capacity to comfortably offer cybercrime testament to this. led to bigger and more robust companies. insurance given it is an emerging area. To therefore get the upper hand, Most players are still grappling with various companies are steadily adopting questions relating to whether there is and leveraging on ICT to streamline need, market and technical capacity operations, improve service, increase (actuarial, underwriting, claims handling insurance penetration and grow margins. /processing, cybercrime risk mitigation The number one motive for cybercrime is financial gain, which puts insurers and other financial service firms at the greatest risk. A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a etc.) Washington-based think tank in 2014, As insurers continue to make forays estimates the annual cost to the global into the internet, portals and mobile Going forward it is expected to pick up economy from cybercrime to be more platforms, it is expected that cybercrime locally. We expect to see it begin with than US$400 billion. The report then will spread into this industry too. the local operations of larger global and puts the financial services sector Depending on the approach taken in insurance companies that can leverage 2nd behind energy & utilities in annual adoption of ICT, it could have more far their experience in developed markets cybercrime cost. reaching consequences. Simply working and sound financial backing before with a core of the legacy systems in slowly being embraced by their local the background could be catastrophic counterparts across the region. Indeed as these may have limited capacity to the first insurance cover against internet withstand a cyber-attack. related crime was launched in Uganda The Insurance sector has for long been a tech-laggard, a status that it could be argued has in a way shielded it from cybercrime. However, the banking sector has blazed trails in demonstrating how The insurance industry also finds itself a focus on technological innovation, included in the cybercrime debate not through evolving advances such as just as victims but as solution providers as online and mobile banking, can be a well by underwriting cybercrime risk. This real game-changer, and the insurance involves developing products to cover sector is slowly joining the bandwagon. legal expenses, compensation, restoration in mid-2015. Given the prevalence of cybercrime, cyber-attacks are a question of when and not if. The topic here should then be Cybercrime assurance rather than insurance. 42