It seems that whenever you read about hackers, malware and other security problems in the insurance industry, the focus is on protecting carriers. But what about agents?
Of course, it's understandable that security efforts would concentrate on the prodigious amounts of data held by insurers, but shouldn't we also consider the fact that much of that data either passes through or resides on the systems of agents and brokers?
Kim Favreau, the newly-elected chair of the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), believes that when it comes to security, agents should be proactive, rather than reactive. "Everybody's talking in the background about data security," she told me in an interview at the recent ASCnet annual conference in Orlando. "It's a trust issue, and we should be seeing more [security problems] in the future. We need to address it now, before it becomes a big problem."
As the commercial lines manager for Connell & Curley Insurance Agency in Natick, Mass., Ms. Favreau is used to dealing with risk management. To stop potential problems, she advocates building security courses into ASCnet's educational program.
"There are always new ways of being hacked," she added, "but you have to look at the potential expense [of a breach]."
So, how about it? Should agents be concerned about breaches, loss of data, or even potential lawsuits connected with such losses? Or do you all feel safe under the umbrella of the carriers' security efforts? Share your thoughts here!
Comments (1)
Our data is behind both a hardware and software firewall. Everything is password protected, of course. And we run the latest Internet security suite, kept up to date.
But after a while, I have to sleep at night, too. I'm already sufficiently worried about global warming, the war in Iraq, and when my kids might move out of the house, thank you very much. Hopefully, my data is as safe as it needs to be.
Posted by Aaron Stein | December 10, 2007 7:52 PM
Posted on December 10, 2007 19:52