Cybercrime More Serious Than You Think, NAILBA Attendees Warned

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Every time you log on to a public Wi-Fi network, everything on your computer could be stolen by an elementary-grade hacker.

Theresa Payton can do it in a just a few minutes. Payton was chief information officer for the White House under President George W. Bush, and she knows how vulnerable most information is on the web.

Most people don't know that, she said. Payton spoke during the NAILBA36 opening general session, then later held a workshop on cybersecurity.

In fact, only 56 percent of cybersecurity alerts are even investigated, she said. Twenty-eight percent of those are deemed legitimate and only 46 percent of those are remediated.

"There's a false reliance on technology," said Payton, president and CEO of Fortalice Solutions.

Like many industries, perhaps more so, the financial services industry is extremely concerned about cybersecurity breaches. The cost of defending clients' private information is high, but a data breach is more costly -- in both dollars and reputation.

In its 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study, Ponemon interviewed 419 companies in 13 countries - including 63 companies in the U.S. - that had experienced a breach in the previous year. The study found that the average total cost of a data breach is $7.35 million in the U.S., a 5 percent increase since last year.

The recent massive Equifax data breach cost insurers $125 million.

Payton periodically ventures to Capitol Hill to brief Congress on cybersecurity issues. She is noticing an evolution in cyberknowledge among the staffers who make legislation move behind the scenes.

"They really have studied this and they have talked to experts," she said.

Instead of creating legislation to close the barn door after the cows have escaped, Payton would like to see a "R&D tax credit" for companies that invest in cybersecurity measures.

"I do believe there will be some type of bill around consumer protection of data," Payton concluded. "I'm just not sure if it'll happen this session."

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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