Britam holdings has just unveiled a cybersecurity cover targeting firms vulnerable to cyber security threats in the country. The move is a stretch beyond traditional policies that are currently available to local companies including theft, fire and disaster. The policy seeks to protect businesses against cyber based threats such as cyber-attacks, data breaches that often result in loss of critical data and corruption of electronic data.
Britam’s cybersecurity cover will protect firms against additional cyber based challenges such as extortion and property damage caused by a network security breach, business interruption and extra expense as a result of system failures.
Cyber-based threats in the Kenya have increased more than three fold in the last decade with several firms in the country falling victim. Just recently, several organizations in the country were hit by a ransomware that attacked computer networks worldwide rendering them unusable unless the victims paid a ransom amount. It has become a menace to an extend where several organizations are forced to spent more than before on network security as well as on efforts to mitigate effects of these attacks.
Speaking on the launch, Britam Holding’s Group Managing Director Benson Wairegi pointed out that the firm’s cybersecurity product came at a critical time when the county’s economy was experiencing losses worth Sh29 billion in 2018 as a result of cyber-attacks.
Mr. Wairegi also acknowledged that cyber Security threats were bound to continue and could become more advanced and sophisticated in various industries and not just in the financial sector. The cover is therefore targeting various sized organizations including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), hospitals, corporates and parastatals.
While commenting on the cybersecurity cover, Britam’s General Insurance CEO Margaret Gathanga explained that the cover could help offset financial liabilities when breaches occurred. She also acknowledged that there lacked a cover presently in the market that shielded companies from cyber threats.
In addition, Gathanga pointed out that Kenyan businesses which have recently stepped up efforts to digitize and embrace new technologies, were exposed to cyber-threats hence need for protection against such attacks. The Cybersecurity Cover comes at a time when the new government data protection policy that is currently in the works coupled by a warning from the Central Bank of Kenya’s Governor Patrick Njoroge that requires banks and other financial institutions to be held responsible in cases of breaches of customer data.