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Insuring for Cyber-Threats: The Ransom Can Be Minor Compared to Potential Downtime

The risk is real, and small to midsize manufacturers are increasingly the target. Insurers AHT and Coalition discuss what to expect from a ransomware attack, and how to defend yourself against one.

For manufacturers—those in the food and beverage industry as well as healthcare—the real issue is the downtime the attack may produce.
For manufacturers—those in the food and beverage industry as well as healthcare—the real issue is the downtime the attack may produce.

More than $100 billion was spent on cybersecurity defense last year. But according to insurance broker AHT, no matter how intricately encrypted, firewalled, or otherwise secured a network may be, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In most cases, that weak link is human error – something that can’t be automated out of any system. Older software that isn’t frequently updated, or lax attitudes toward password control, are two common vulnerabilities that present hackers with areas of ingress.

Because of this, AHT partnered with Coalition, an insurer that specializes in cyber defense monitoring and insuring. The two collaborated to present on the current state of cybersecurity for food manufacturers today at ProFood Tech. [Editor’s note: While the presentation was geared toward food manufacturers, the information is also applicable to healthcare manufacturers and packagers.]

Ransomware was the primary topic of discussion. In this case, an attacker will gain access to a company’s network via malware, ‘phishing or spear phishing,’ or social engineering (someone logs in who is not who they say they are) types of attacks. The downside to cyberattacks for companies in many sectors is whatever extortion fee the attacker asks for.

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Break out of the ordinary: see what’s new in life sciences packaging
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