Cyber insurance forces companies to rethink risk management

<p>Cyber insurance is a unique risk transfer product for enterprises. When a company purchases property insurance, the fire that might damage its offices isn’t trying to figure out better ways to burn down the building.</p>
<p>Cybersecurity professionals know that digital threat actors are altogether different, always working on <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/10-common-types-of-malware-attacks-and-how-to-prevent-them”>clever, sophisticated attacks</a> to access systems and steal sensitive data. When attackers succeed, the damage to the business’s operations, reputation and bottom line can be significant. Cyber insurance, with a swiftly growing <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.ajg.com/-/media/files/gallagher/us/news-and-insights/2025/2026-cyber-insurance-market-outlook.pdf” rel=”noopener”>market</a> nearing $20 billion in premiums, offers enterprises a potential shield against the worst of the financial fallout resulting from a data breach.</p>
<p>The cyber insurance industry, however, is changing as insurers reevaluate which types of digital risk they will cover and the reasonable cybersecurity measures customers are expected to implement. Just as a property-casualty insurer would not cover an office that did not take prudent steps to prevent or mitigate fire damage — smoke detectors, alarms and sprinkler systems, for instance — cyber insurance carriers are forcing businesses to defend their digital ecosystems, too. Security experts understand it is impossible to eliminate all cyber-related risk. But a strong defensive posture with protocols such as <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/endpoint-detection-and-response-EDR”>endpoint detection and response</a>, <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/multifactor-authentication-MFA”>MFA</a> and <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/2019s-top-email-security-best-practices-for-employees”>email security</a> can reduce the risk of costly incidents, protecting enterprises and insurers alike.</p>
<p>In this Reporters’ Notebook video, Fahmida Y. Rashid, managing editor at Dark Reading, David Jones, reporter at Cybersecurity Dive, and Richard Livingston, editor of TechTarget SearchSecurity, discussed the role cyber insurance is playing as enterprise leaders rethink cybersecurity risk.</p>
<p>Learn more about cyber insurance:</p>
<ul class=”default-list”>
<li><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-cyber-insurance-helped-with-breach-recovery-or-not”>How cyber insurance helped with breach recovery — or not</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/What-CISOs-should-look-for-in-cyber-insurance-policy-fine-print”>Things to check in your cyber insurance fine print</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Cyber-insurance-trends-What-executives-need-to-know”>Cyber insurance trends: What executives need to know</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/RSAC-2026-Cyber-insurance-and-the-rise-of-ransomware”>Cyber insurance and the rise of ransomware</a></li>
<li><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-find-ransomware-cyber-insurance-coverage”>Tips to find cyber insurance coverage</a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;<i>Richard Livingston is an editor with Informa TechTarget’s SearchSecurity site, covering cybersecurity news, trends and analysis.</i></p>
<p><b>Editor’s note:</b> <i>The following transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.</i></p>
<p><b>Dark Reading’s Fahmida Y. Rashid:</b> Hi and welcome to our latest edition of Reporters’ Notebook. I’m Fahmida Rashid, managing editor of technology and features at Dark Reading, and I’m joined here with my counterparts from Cybersecurity Dive and TechTarget SearchSecurity. I’ll have everyone introduce themselves. So, Richard, why don’t you take it away?</p>
<p><b>TechTarget SearchSecurity’s Richard Livingston:</b> Hi, I’m Richard Livingston. I’m a writer and editor with TechTarget SearchSecurity.</p>
<p><b>Cybersecurity Dive’s David Jones:</b> I’m David Jones. I’m a reporter with Cybersecurity Dive.</p>
<p><b>Rashid:</b> And for this month’s Reporters’ Notebook, we are going to be digging into cyber insurance. I feel like that is a term that everyone is talking about. All three of us have written a lot about the topic, and there’s just so much that doesn’t quite surface in people’s consciousness. Richard, let’s just start right off. What is cyber insurance? What is it? What is it coverin

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