Travelers Risk Index: Cyber Ranks as the Top Business Concern
29 September 2021 - 10:30PM
Business Wire
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) today announced the
results of the 2021 Travelers Risk Index, which found that cyber
threats are the top business concern. Of the 1,200 business leaders
who participated in the national survey, 59% said they worry some
or a great deal about cyber, compared to medical cost inflation
(53%) and increasing employee benefit costs (53%). The results mark
a return to the top spot for cyber, which also ranked first in
2019.
Despite heightened cyber concerns, only 61% of participants
reported feeling extremely or very confident in their company’s
cyber practices. In addition, less than half of survey respondents
have adopted basic preventive measures available to companies, such
as multifactor authentication, and cyber attacks continue to
increase both in frequency and severity. According to the survey,
one-fourth of participants said their company has been a cyber
victim – a 150% increase from 2015 – with nearly half (47%)
reporting that the event happened within the past 12 months.
The results follow a recent meeting at the White House where
Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers,
joined President Biden and members of his Cabinet and national
security team, as well as private sector and education leaders to
discuss how to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.
“We constantly work to raise awareness of the serious and costly
consequences that cyber threats can pose,” said Tim Francis,
Enterprise Cyber Lead at Travelers. “These survey results show that
despite cyber risks being the top concern, too many companies are
unprepared to deal with them. It’s crucial that businesses take the
necessary actions to protect their data and assets, especially with
so many employees continuing to work remotely.”
Other key findings from the Travelers Risk Index include:
- Security breaches, system glitches and unauthorized access to
bank accounts are the top three cyber-specific business
concerns.
- The percentage of respondents who said their company suffered a
security breach where someone hacked into a system increased nearly
40% compared to 2020, to almost half (46%).
- More than half (55%) of companies believe it is inevitable that
at some point they will be the victim of a data breach or cyber
attack.
- There continues to be an increase in the percentage of survey
respondents whose companies have purchased a cyber insurance
policy: 56% this year compared to 39% in 2018.
Travelers provides a range of coverage options and services to
help businesses of all sizes prepare for and recover from a cyber
event. That includes a full suite of prebreach resources, putting
customers in the best possible position to prevent a cyber incident
through a complete risk mitigation program, as well as technical
expertise and financial support to facilitate post-breach
recovery.
The Travelers Institute, Travelers’ public policy division, will
present a virtual program called “The Fight Against Cyber Crime –
From Prevention to Prosecution” on Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. ET. The program
will feature Edward Chang, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District
of Connecticut at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Jeff Klenk,
President of Bond & Specialty Insurance at Travelers, who will
highlight the public and private sector collaborative efforts to
reduce cyber crime. For more information, and to register, visit
the Travelers Institute events and webinars page.
About the Survey
Hart Research conducted a national online survey of 1,200
business decision makers July 7-20, 2021. The survey was
commissioned by Travelers.
About Travelers
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider
of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. A
component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has
approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues of
approximately $32 billion in 2020. For more information, visit
Travelers.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210929005518/en/
Media: Michael Whitmer, 860.277.2010
mwhitmer@travelers.com
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