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Monthly Archives: August 2013

Lloyds Construction Consortium Offering Large Capacity

A killer whale, Orcinus OrcaABEX is very excited to offer large capacity for onshore construction projects, through the Construction Consortium at Lloyd’s.

Four of the market’s most experienced insurers of construction risks have come together to form the Construction Consortium at Lloyd’s, offering capacity to lead risks on major projects.  

Key Benefits

  • Up to US$166 million probable maximum loss capacity (approx. equivalent to a US$664 million participation an a sum insured basis)
  • A lead market for all types of onshore construction projects worldwide.
  • Flexible participations – any consortium syndicate can lead
  • Bespoke wordings for clients and their projects
  • Lloyd’s financial security (A.M. Best A: Excellent, S&P A+: Strong)
  • Rapid service to meet brokers’ deadlines 

 For more information on this or other construction products, please contact us.


Employee Data Leaks a Major Cyber Risk

Bradley Manning-1297457129899_ORIGINAL

U.S. soldier Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse during his court martial at Fort Meade in Maryland, August, 20, 2013. (REUTERS/Jose Luis Magana)

The case of Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier convicted of the biggest breach of classified data in the US history by providing files to WikiLeaks, highlights how employees can pose a major vulnerability to the internet security. 

In 2010, Manning turned over more than 700,000 classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, the pro transparency website, in a case that has commanded international attention. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday and this sentence is unprecedented in its magnitude for providing secret material to the media. Please click on the link to read more in the Toronto Sun article:  Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in WikiLeaks case

This case shows how some of the most damaging cyber-attacks involving deliberate policy violations come from within the business, in ways that many employers overlook when it comes to their cyber security. It’s an employer’s worst nightmare—an employee is dissatisfied with his or her job and decides to defraud or steal from the company. Employees can cause enormous damage by committing these crimes.

According to a 2012 occupational fraud report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the typical organization loses 5 per cent of its annual revenue to fraud. It also reported that the median loss caused by fraud was $160,000. For a small company, this could mean the end of the business. Small businesses are more at risk because owners inherently treat their employees like family, leading to complacency and lax security measures. Small businesses also tend not to have anti-fraud measures in place as many lack the knowhow and enforcement capabilities of larger businesses. Nearly half of victim organizations do not recover any losses that they suffer due to fraud.*

ABEX has partnered with WatSec to provide employee security awareness training as part of our Cyber Risk Management Program.  The security awareness training prepares every staff member with the critical skills necessary to work productively while being vigilant for potential security threats. 

Please contact ABEX and WatSec for more information on how you can effectively manage your cyber risks.

 

*Source: ©2013 Zywave, Inc

Hackers Demand Ransom from Businesses after Stealing and Encrypting Their Information

hackerThank you to all who participated in ABEX / WatSec Cyber Webinar yesterday.  During the webinar, we touched on a few different examples of cyber attacks, one of the newest threats involving ransom attacks.

In ransom attacks, hackers steal information from businesses and encrypt it so that it can’t be read by anyone.  Data from backups can get encrypted as well.  Then hackers demand ransom from the victims in exchange for the encryption key that would allow the victims to access their own information. However, the hackers won’t necessarily decrypt the files even after the ransom had been paid.

There are many examples of ransom attacks happening, not only around the globe, but also here in Canada and more specifically in Southwestern Ontario and GTA.  These cases do not always reach the media, and thus do not get the deserved attention.  

One example includes some Dryden, Ontario residents who were struck by a combination of computer virus and Internet scam.  The virus would exhibit the logo of the RCMP, informing users they have violated copyright infringement or downloaded illegal pornography. It details the applicable money-wiring businesses users should use to pay their fine of $100 within 72 hours or risk being imprisoned from one to nine years or face a fine of up to $250,000.  Click here to read more.

Another example includes an Australian medical centre, Miami Family Medical Centre and The Surgeons of Lake County which all had a ransom demand after blackmailers broke into the organizations’ servers and encrypted their entire patient databases.  Click here to read more.

According to Norton’s Cybercrime 2012 report, 70% of online adults in Canada have been the victim of cybercrime at some point in their life. Cybercrime costs Canadians $1.4 billion per year. The average cost per crime victim is over $160, according to Norton’s report.

A security company, Trend Micro, has published an infographic: The Cybercriminal Underground: How Cybercriminals Are Getting Better At Stealing Your Money. The infographic explores what items are being traded in the cybercrime underground, how the underground is organized, and how users are affected. Click here to read more.

Please feel free to contact ABEX and WatSec for more information on how you can effectively manage your cyber risks.


ABEXAccess.com News: Truly Secure Communications!

5 ostriches iStock_000013466436SmallIn gearing up to our official launch of ABEXAccess.com, every couple of weeks we will provide you with a little more information of what your experience will be like with this groundbreaking platform for Real-Time rating and paperless policy issuance. 

Why is it awesome?

With more recognition that email is not a secure way to exchange information, the industry is challenged to come up with a secure way to communicate. ABEXAccess.com solves some of the toughest challenges in securely exchanging information today between the Broker, the ABEX underwriter, and the Client. With ABEXAccess your communications solution is secure from Client to ABEX – at no cost to you. 

How does it work?

Here’s a list of just some of the security features that are part of the ABEXAccess.com solution:

  • You can securely upload and attach files to policies, record notes, and exchange information with ABEX securely through ABEXAccess.com
  • Access to the website is secured using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption (a best practice to secure websites)
  • Every person that logs in to ABEXAccess.com has their own unique user ID and password
  • Whether you access the site through your iPad, Android tablet, or other mobile device you always connect securely the same way
  • Your Client can also access their policy information securely by logging in to ABEXAccess.com with their own user ID and password

Show me!

Please note that the screen shots below are examples only.

Click here for larger screen shots

You can attach documents, photos, and even notes to a policy. All of this information is stored securely within ABEXAccess.com.

Attach files

Everyone that uses ABEXAccess.com must have a valid user ID and password:

Login

New policies and changes to policies are tracked with the user ID, date, and time:

Policy Tracking

ABEXAccess.com will be released in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in test driving it contact us today.

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