AEGIS London releases ‘new breed’ of cyber coverage

Touting its product as the “next generation” and “new breed” of cyber insurance, AEGIS London said it is the first to offer operational technology and critical infrastructure coverage within a cyber policy.

“Cyber attacks are no longer focused solely on IT environments,” said Alan Maguire, chairman of AEGIS London, in a statement. “Cyber terrorists have turned their attention to operational technologies and the critical infrastructure they support, so we have expanded our coverage accordingly.”

Maguire said business, for the first time, can get insurance coverage and service-based offerings for operational and information technology with AEGIS’ CyberResilience product.

AEGIS said the product launch follows a study of cyber risk in the energy sector and its impact on so-called critical infrastructure businesses. The insurer points out that in the first half of the 2013 fiscal year, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems–Computer Emergency Readiness Team responded to more than 200 incidents, 53% of which were in the energy and utility sector – and many of them sponsored by states such as China.

The study found the overwhelming majority of respondents, as well as specialists and vendors who work with energy companies and utilities, believe it is not a matter of “if” – but “when” – there will be a cyber attack of major significance and impact on critical operational infrastructure such as the electric grid.

Power companies are better prepared to deal with cyber threats to OT than media reports indicate. The biggest challenges energy companies and utilities face are constraints outside their control such as the lack of adequate and mature technology solutions, the study said.

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