The digital age has unified everything that is on the internet. Every sector, including the insurance sector, has benefitted from it.
Whether it’s automatic premium deductions from bank accounts or digital payments of premiums using mobile wallets, such seamless connectivity has provided the customer with a new experience. As a result, insurance companies are either on the verge or have digitally transformed completely.
However, this seamless interconnection has also attracted some unwanted parties – cyber criminals. With so much sensitive financial data, the insurance sector is one of the prime targets for hackers. Insurance companies have increasingly realized this and are integrating comprehensive cyber security testing into their QA process.
Here are a few points that highlight the importance of cyber security testing in the insurance sector:
Building the trust among customers
Since the advent of the digital ecosystem in the insurance industry, it has allured businesses and customers alike. However, owing to some recent cyberattacks, the trust quotient in the digital arena has taken a slight beating.
Today customers are wary of choosing just any insurance service provider. They know that having a digital presence may ensure a seamless process but does not necessarily guarantee data security. In fact, even the insurance companies are realizing gradually that robust cyber security infrastructure instills trust among the customers.
So, it’s imperative that insurance companies make cyber security their top priority. Without a robust security infrastructure, insurance providers are going to lose the trust of their consumers and, eventually, their business. In this regard, cyber security testing can be a real-life saver.
Whether it’s vulnerability scanning of the 3rd party payment gateways or validating the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulations, comprehensive security testing can help businesses safeguard themselves from most cybercrimes.
Mitigating the financial impacts of data breaches
When a data breach happens in a process, the whole operation gets rattled. The primary focus is shifted from BAU towards a fast and adequate response to minimize its impact. Even when this breach is taken care of, there are reputational issues. However, the worst of them all is the financial impact.
When it comes to financial impacts, there are two aspects to it – the first being loss to the business due to a breach, and then there are fines and enforcement action by regulatory agencies. The latter happens when the company has not complied with one or more regulatory frameworks.
Under the EU & UK GDPR, the authorities can levy penalties of up to €20 million (about £18 million) or 4% of an organization’s annual global turnover. So, we can see that such fines cannot be taken lightly.
However, it’s a fact that comprehensive security testing frameworks cannot guarantee zero data breaches. However, it can definitely ensure that the financial impact is minimal when such an event occurs. Moreover, organizations that follow cyber security best practices can also manage quick and suitable response mechanisms.
Tackling the sudden rise in the ransomware attacks
As already discussed, insurance companies are on the radar of cybercriminals. However, there has been a sudden rise in ransomware attacks over the last few years.
These ransomware attacks are specifically directed toward large insurance providers. So, businesses also need to take care of such specific attacks in their security testing frameworks.
Many ransomware attackers focus on Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) port 3389 and Server Message Block (SMB) port 445 for their entry into the system. So, besides the traditional testing, insurance companies also need to perform specific checks such as reviewing the port settings and hardening your endpoints.
Numerous companies also make regular backups to circumvent the data loss that can happen due to such attacks. However, prevention is better than care. So, customized security testing is always the first approach that businesses must take as it helps them safeguard themselves from most ransomware attacks.
Establishing a culture of security in the organization
There are many instances where organizations have a robust security infrastructure, but the lack of security awareness has resulted in phishing attacks. So, your business must understand that cyber security testing is not just about testing. It’s also about regular security awareness. Educating employees and 3rd party stakeholders goes a long way in preventing phishing attacks.
Most security training programs have simulations to imitate social engineering approaches that can trick employees into bypassing security measures. So, imparting regular security awareness training not only educates them but also encourages employees to stay vigilant and motivates them to protect their sensitive information.
Insurance companies also need to consider that they cannot just include any basic security training program for this purpose. Instead, they must customize the training structure according to the insurance industry security best practices.
Boosting the cloud security infrastructure
When it comes to adopting new technologies, cloud migration usually features on the top of the list. Even though the security structure of the cloud is robust, as claimed by cloud service providers, they are still vulnerable to cyberattacks. Many insurance agencies are susceptible to data breaches through denial of services (DoS) and hijacking attacks.
Insurance companies understand that traditional security testing cannot guarantee complete protection from cloud intrusions. QA teams need to adopt cloud-based application security frameworks. This involves verifying if the cloud-related security best practices CIS benchmarks and NIST Cybersecurity Framework are diligently followed or not.
Cloud services are usually provided by cloud vendors, such as Google, AWS, Oracle, etc. Most of them have a shared responsibility model for security. It means they allow businesses to perform penetration testing only on some specific areas of the cloud network, while for others, the permission of the vendor is required. So, while performing cloud penetration testing, businesses need to check specific restrictions and according move forward with the testing.
The way forward
Understanding the importance of cybersecurity testing is only the first step in ensuring a robust security network. The real deal for insurance companies is performing comprehensive and customized security testing.
Even though most insurance agencies want an in-house QA team to undertake this endeavor, they outsource because of the number of the hassles involved. And this is where the crucial part comes: choosing an excellent QA service provider.
Qualitest is one such organization that has a reputation in QA the sector and is also well equipped with the expertise required for the insurance industry. Whether it is penetration testing or insurance application testing, Qualitest can help you with all types of quality engineering processes.
