Insurtech Magazine September 2023 | Page 85

The nature of cyber risk is constantly evolving , with both the ferocity and frequency of cyber attacks on the rise . But when it comes to preparedness , perception is as important as reality – and new research from Cohesity shows that perception of cyber risk is also growing .

The data security company surveyed almost 3,500 IT and SecOps decision makers in Australia , France , Germany , Japan , New Zealand , the UK , and the United States . More than nine out of 10 respondents say that the level of cyber threat has increased , while 72 % say they would be willing to pay a ransom and use insurance to help recover the money .
Indeed , over 85 % of organisations surveyed say they have a cyber resilience strategy in place . Nearly three-quarters have cyber insurance but , reflecting the challenges that the industry faces , almost half ( 48 %) of respondents think it ’ s harder to get insurance now than it was three years ago .
Stewart Parkin , CTO EMEA for Assured Data Protection , explains : “ Businesses are more reliant on the cloud than ever , however that makes them more susceptible to breaches , ransomware and other threats – not to mention traditional outages . With nearly all businesses looking to achieve cyber resilience , many have been investing in cyber insurance .”
Do hybrid working models impact cyber risk ? As the COVID-19 pandemic wound down and lockdowns ended , the world of work saw a sudden shift . Many businesses – buoyed by their ability to survive homeworking and incentivised to give their staff greater flexibility – kept a degree of homeworking
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