The INSURTECH Book

Beware of GDPR – Take your Cyber Risk Responsibility More Seriously

By Eelco Ouwerkerk

Industry Director Wholesale and Retail, Aon

All organizations, whether businesses or government agencies, should be concerned with their cyber risk exposure at this very moment.

The connectedness among businesses, their operations, suppliers, and customers, due to the increasing use of digital technologies, means that every organization around the globe is vulnerable to potentially catastrophic losses resulting from electronic data theft and sabotage. This reliance among partnering organizations and the growing prevalence of the usage of big data, cloud computing, social media, “bring your own device” within corporate policies, and state-sponsored espionage have catapulted the number of risks resulting from cyber crimes into one of the top concerns of business leaders today.

And it is not just businesses. Local and national governments are catching up with this relatively new threat as well. Digital technology is more and more used for commercial purposes within those environments too. It is used to sell products and services, to optimize business processes, and/or to reduce operating costs. Known applications used across government agencies include cloud computing, email, the Internet, social media, mobile applications, as well as big data.

Whether in business or government, these technologies and new advancements play a major role in the realization of stakeholder value, whether this means ...