Insurance body urges swift reauthorization of terrorism insurance act
The American Insurance Association has called for Congress to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act which expired on New Year’s Eve. AIA president and CEO Leigh Ann Pusey said yesterday: “Congress must make it a top priority to immediately take up and pass the already agreed upon House-Senate TRIA reauthorization provisions. We are very pleased to see that the House plans to vote on TRIA reauthorization legislation this week. We urge the Senate to quickly pass the bill in order to restore market certainty and protect our economy against major acts of terrorism.” A last-minute challenge to the reauthorization meant Congress ran out of time to pass the renewal before Christmas.
Cyber risks increasing in 2015
The risk of cyber attack is increasingly all the time and criminals are finding new ways to steal information, affect services and create havoc in organisations. A report by CNBC has been looking at a number of methods that are being used in cyber attacks. Ransom-ware is a relatively new form of malicious software (malware) and as the name suggests it infects systems and holds the owner to ransom by encrypting their data until a payment is made. The internet of things is another risk. The Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this week is focusing on the increasingly connected world and with every connection there is potential vulnerability. Cyber-espionage is also an increasing risk, with more nations and terrorist groups launching cyber attacks. As the use of cash payments declines in favor of electronic alternatives there is also greater threat of cyber theft especially financial data. The final risk flagged in the report is insecure passwords. Longer term most systems will require multiple items of information for access but in the meantime easy-to-guess passwords are a real issue for businesses. Read the full story.
Data privacy day returns this month
An international focus on protecting data online returns again later this month. Data Privacy Day has spread from Europe to North America to Australia and is now recognised in many countries globally. The day, January 28th aims to raise awareness among both consumers and businesses and to better educate them in how to keep online data safe. The day also encourages businesses to be open about how they use and protect consumers’ data.
