Pricing and Investments in Internet Security: A Cyber-Insurance Perspective

Internet users such as individuals and organizations are subject to different types of epidemic risks such as worms, viruses, spams, and botnets. To reduce the probability of risk, an Internet user generally invests in traditional security mechanisms like anti-virus and anti-spam software, sometimes also known as self-defense mechanisms. However, such software does not completely eliminate risk. Recent works have considered the problem of residual risk elimination by proposing the idea of cyber-insurance. In this regard, an important research problem is the analysis of optimal user self-defense investments and cyber-insurance contracts under the Internet environment. In this paper, we investigate two problems and their relationship: 1) analyzing optimal self-defense investments in the Internet, under optimal cyber-insurance coverage, where optimality is an insurer objective and 2) designing optimal cyber-insurance contracts for Internet users, where a contract is a (premium, coverage) pair

Cyber Insurance for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Heterogeneous wireless networks (HWNs) composed of densely deployed base stations of different types with various radio access technologies have become a prevailing trend to accommodate ever-increasing traffic demand in enormous volume. Nowadays, users rely heavily on HWNs for ubiquitous network access that contains valuable and critical information such as financial transactions, e-health, and public safety. Cyber risks, representing one of the most significant threats to network security and reliability, are increasing in severity. To address this problem, this article introduces the concept of cyber insurance to transfer the cyber risk (i.e., service outage, as a consequence of cyber risks in HWNs) to a third party insurer. Firstly, a review of the enabling technologies for HWNs and their vulnerabilities to cyber risks is presented. Then, the fundamentals of cyber insurance are introduced, and subsequently, a cyber insurance framework for HWNs is presented. Finally, open issues are discussed and the challenges are highlighted for integrating cyber insurance as a service of next generation HWNs.Comment: IEEE Communications Magazine (Heterogeneous Ultra Dense Networks

Why IT Managers Don\u27t Go for Cyber-Insurance Products

Despite positive expectations, cyber-insurance products have failed to take center stage in the management of IT security risk. Market inexperience, leading to conservatism in pricing cyber-insurance instruments, is often cited as the primary reason for the limited growth of the cyber-insurance market. In contrast, here we provide a demand-side explanation for why cyber-insurance products have not lived up to their initial expectations. We highlight the presence of information asymmetry between customers and providers, showing how it leads to overpricing cyber-insurance contracts and helps explain why cyber insurance might have failed to deliver its promise as a cornerstone of IT security-management programs

Organizational Adoption of Cyber Insurance Instruments in IT Security Risk Management– A Modeling Approach

Cyber insurance can be an effective instrument to transfer cyber risk and complement the benefits from technological controls that guard the IS (information and network) assets in organizations. This research attempts to identify the factors that could explain the proclivity of adoption of cyber insurance in managing cyber risk of an organization. Grounded on the context based TOE framework of adoption of innovation, we propose a research model that integrates technology, organizational and environmental factors surrounding the adoption of cyber insurance. We begin with the insights from TOE literature, and contextualize them with the specificities of cyber insurance in order to formulate a set of relevant hypotheses, empirical validation of which could provide valuable insight into organizational adoption (or the observed lack) of cyber insurance. This research attempts to explain the contextual factors that affect successful organizational adoption of cyber insurance and extend the TOE adoption of innovation theory in the area of IT security risk management

Cyber Insurance for Cyber Resilience

Cyber insurance is a complementary mechanism to further reduce the financial impact on the systems after their effort in defending against cyber attacks and implementing resilience mechanism to maintain the system-level operator even though the attacker is already in the system. This chapter presents a review of the quantitative cyber insurance design framework that takes into account the incentives as well as the perceptual aspects of multiple parties. The design framework builds on the correlation between state-of-the-art attacker vectors and defense mechanisms. In particular, we propose the notion of residual risks to characterize the goal of cyber insurance design. By elaborating the insurer's observations necessary for the modeling of the cyber insurance contract, we make comparison between the design strategies of the insurer under scenarios with different monitoring rules. These distinct but practical scenarios give rise to the concept of the intensity of the moral hazard issue. Using the modern techniques in quantifying the risk preferences of individuals, we link the economic impacts of perception manipulation with moral hazard. With the joint design of cyber insurance design and risk perceptions, cyber resilience can be enhanced under mild assumptions on the monitoring of insurees' actions. Finally, we discuss possible extensions on the cyber insurance design framework to more sophisticated settings and the regulations to strengthen the cyber insurance markets

Cyber Insurance Today: Saving It Before It Needs Saving

Cyber insurance, which covers a company’s losses and costs stemming from a cyberattack, represents a nearly $5 billion global market. But have stakeholders shaped a sustainable model? This article analyzes contrasting claims about the viability of cyber insurance. It proposes measures to ensure the survival of the cyber insurance market, which should be immediately addressed given the current state of the world and the fact that even pre-COVID-19, businesses worldwide stood to lose over$5.2 trillion over the next five years due to cybercrimes. Unless action is taken to mitigate the fallout from cyber events, the cyber insurance market will indeed continue on its perilous path to insolvency

Role of Cyber Insurance in India to Protect Cyber Theft: A Socio-Legal Study

Cyber insurance can help protect your business from potential cyber threats. With the right cyber insurance, you can protect yourself and your data from potential damage. Here are some tips to help you choose the right cyber insurance policy- Check the cyber risk associated with your business. Make sure that the cyber risks your business faces are realistic and not exaggerated. Look at the cyber insurance policies available. There are many cyber insurance policies available, so make sure to compare prices and policies to find the best deal for your business. Choose the right cyber insurance policy for your business. Make sure to choose a policy that covers all of your cyber needs, including data loss, cyber theft, and third-party cyber-attacks. Get a policy that covers your business’s entire staff. A policy that covers your entire staff can help protect your data and business from potential cyber threats. Get a policy that has generous coverage. A policy that has generous coverage will protect your business from potential cyber threats, even if they are not specifically covered in the policy. Get a policy that is easy to use. A policy that is easy to use will help you understand the policy and make sure you are getting security