General Insurance Article - Boards are simply 'ticking boxes' on data security

 The Commissioner of the City of London Police, Adrian Leppard, told Lloyd’s managing agents that corporate board members are “ticking boxes rather than concentrating on the security of their data”.

 Speaking at Monday’s lunchtime event, organised by the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), commissioner Adrian Leppard said: “Governments cannot offer the same protection against online crime as they can for other types of crime.” He went on to say that cyber crime was not just a technical issue and that people and processes were the largest vulnerability: “The only way we can protect ourselves is to change the way we secure and use information both commercially and privately.”

 The event, Cyber Risk: Evaluating the Threat, was chaired by the LMA’s manager of underwriting, David Powell, and also featured Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO of data security specialist Templar Executives.

 Over 130 insurance professionals attended the events including underwriting and company secretaries.

 David Powell said: “The focus of the event was not just on how we can protect insureds, but also how managing agents can protect their own businesses. The insurance sector has the same vulnerabilities to cyber attack as other businesses and we need to understand and address the risks.”

 Cyber Risk: Evaluating the Threat was held in the Old Library at the Lloyd’s Building. It examined the role of the City of London police in fighting cyber crime and examined the latest developments in evaluating cyber risks.