Cyber Hub.

Getting hacked is so simple, it’s no surprise it’s such a regular occurrence.

Basic security precautions can help you and your clients prepare for and mitigate against the vast majority of modern cyber threats.

Cyber insurance has changed from a product that was once hard to sell to one that’s hard to buy, says Jeff Gonlin, Head of Underwriting & Product Development at Emergence Insurance.

Emergence Insurance has appointed experienced insurance and cyber specialist Colin Pausey as Chief Operating Officer.

Brokers’ clients can now access personal cyber protection insurance policies via co-branded online portals with Emergence Insurance.

The legal obligations following notifiable data breaches are getting more onerous as regulations tighten.

Pioneers in cyber underwriting, Emergence Insurance announced it had been awarded $100,000 by the Western Sydney University (WSU) from a $745,000 Federal Government grant awarded to WSU.

Emergence today has launched an Australian-first in-house Incident Response and Cyber Claims team to manage and settle cyber claims.

The incident response process led by dedicated Emergence Cyber Breach Coaches, will manage and coordinate immediate, professional and thorough response to cyber events.

Cyber insurance is now commonplace in the commercial sector, particularly the top end of town.

Claims can be expensive and the ramifications, including reputational damage, devastating.

Emergence Insurance has upgraded its policy wording to expand coverage.

The flexible, innovative new wording, released on 6 April, was developed in consultation with brokers and clients.

Four simple steps can dramatically increase organisations’ cyber attack resilience.

Braxton Bragg, Principal Security Consultant at Gridware Cybersecurity, told an Emergence Insurance webinar for brokers and clients that the four pathways are:

If you get hacked, notifying customers – even with no legal obligation to do so – can assist in mitigating reputation damage.

That was a key message from the latest Emergence Insurance webinar for brokers.

Emergence has added to its burgeoning trophy cabinet.

Emergence has won Insurance Business magazine’s 2019 broker’s pick award for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five years.

Emergence Insurance has released an excess of loss (XOL) cyber policy.

Jeff Gonlin, Emergence’s Head of Underwriting & Product Development, said the launch followed market demand, driven by contractual obligations and clients seeking higher policy limits because of greater awareness of potential exposures.

The frequency and severity of cyber insurance claims are rising rapidly.

A portfolio analysis conducted by Emergence Insurance shows FY19 claims frequency was up 29% compared with FY18.

Emergence Insurance has expanded to Western Australia, opening an office headed by an award-winning business development manager.

James Lee has joined cyber insurance specialist Emergence as Perth-based Business Development Underwriter after 4-1/2 years with Allianz Australia.

Cyber criminals are getting smarter at using social engineering to defraud businesses.

New research from US-based cyber security company FireEye, which analysed 1.3 billion phishing emails in Q1 2019, has found three big emerging trends.

Emergence is constantly seeking ways to support our brokers and clients.

This alert is about a new computer flaw, identified by Microsoft as CVE-2019-0708, that affects some older versions of Microsoft Windows. The flaw could affect your own computer systems or your clients’.

The cyber crime of social engineering has developed because of human fallibility.

Emergence Insurance Head of Underwriting & Product Development Jeff Gonlin told an Emergence webinar: “Your computer is easier to hack than the banks’ and humans are easier to hack than any computer.”

Human error is a key reason why data breaches occur.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) first annual report on the notifiable data breaches (NDB) scheme shows it received 964 notifications from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, a 712% increase on the previous voluntary scheme.

We’re over the moon at Emergence because we’ve just won the Insurance Business magazine’s award for Best Underwriting Agency of the Year.

We’re ecstatic and energised by the win, but it won’t make us complacent.

Cyber specialist Emergence Insurance has enhanced its policy wording to cover social engineering.

Emergence has developed a new, optional section, Criminal Financial Loss, which offers cover for socially engineered thefts and cryptojacking. The new covers are in addition to cyber theft and telephone phreaking, which have long been part of Emergence’s offer.

An aluminium and renewable energy company has suffered a sophisticated ransomware attack that paralysed parts of its operations.

A full recovery of IT systems will take weeks or more at Norwegian company Norsk Hydro. The financial impact in the first week alone was estimated at $41 million. Fortunately Norsk Hydro has a cyber policy.

Systemic risks, silent cyber, and state-sponsored hacking are the three biggest global cyber threats, a leading UK-based expert has told an Emergence Insurance webinar.

Scott Bailey, Managing Director Cyber for London-based Markel International, was in Australia to participate in a Q&A session at one of Emergence’s regular webinars for brokers.

Malicious or criminal attacks were the largest source of data breaches in the October-to-December 2018 quarter, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) latest quarterly report has revealed.

Our new Melbourne office is now open.

The office is headed by Manager – Victoria, Trevor Rossi (pictured).

Brokers can’t market what they don’t understand.

That’s why award-winning Emergence Insurance, which specialises in cyber cover, is fully focused on educating brokers so they understand why their clients need protection against cyber attacks.

An IT expert says insider threats appear to be under-reported in data collated by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Emergence Insurance has the winning formula.

Australia’s only dedicated, broker-focused cyber insurance underwriting agency has won two gold medals for being the top brokers’ pick and having the best cyber policy in the Insurance Business magazine awards.

Human error remains a key cause of notifiable data breaches, according to the latest quarterly report from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Emergence Insurance has upgraded its policy wording to expand coverage.

The innovative new wording, released on 20 August 2018, was developed in consultation with brokers and clients and responds to the need for broader coverage as the range of cyber threats increases.

Human error is the second highest overall source of data breaches – and in some sectors the highest – according to the second quarterly report into notifiable data breaches, issued by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Cyber criminals are successfully wreaking havoc in computer systems using traditional techniques, brokers participating in an Emergence Insurance webinar have heard.

Gerry Power, Emergence’s National Head of Sales, told 1,100 brokers and clients that criminals continue to have success with hacking (involved in 48% of breaches) and malicious software (30% of breaches).

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has released its first quarterly report into notifiable data breaches, which shows 63 reported breaches since the scheme began on 22 February 2018.

That means in only its first 38 days, the scheme is averaging more than two notifications every business day.

The ramifications of cyber hacks are about to increase dramatically.

From Thursday 22 February, Australia’s notifiable data breaches (NDB) scheme comes into force.

Small business owners and managers might not consider themselves prime targets for cyber attacks.

They may assume big companies have more information to steal and more profits to siphon off, so they’re targeted most often by criminals online. In reality, the opposite is often true.

Chips contain a feature that makes them vulnerable to hacking that could allow hackers to steal sensitive data, Intel Corp and other leading chip manufacturers have confirmed.

Hackers find weaknesses (known as vulnerabilities) in software they can exploit to access computers, smartphones and tablets. Installing software updates can fix vulnerabilities and help keep you secure.

Ransomware attacks are one of the most common forms of cyber attack in Australia. How can you protect your business?

Ransomware hackers steal businesses’ files and demand ransom payments to get them back. The attacks can be devastating financially for companies that are not prepared.

Emergence has updated its policy to restrict its exclusion for cyber terrorism events.

Jeff Gonlin, Head of Underwriting & Product Development, said: “We’ve listened to brokers and changed our position to ensure cover is available.”

Emergence has won two awards in the 2017 Insurance Business magazine’s ‘Brokers on Underwriters’ Awards.

Emergence won the ‘Brokers’ Pick’ for its cyber event protection product and a silver medal in the ‘Cyber and information technology liability’ category.

You might think that if you run a small business, you’re mostly safe from cyber crime or ransomware attacks. After all, why would a hacker bother to target you when there are bigger fish to fry?

These days, no one is safe – cyber incidents are increasing among companies of all sizes.

On the afternoon of 27 June 2017 reports began to surface regarding ransomware called Petya and how it has impacted several countries.

Emergence has been actively monitoring developments in relation to the spread of the Petya ransomware attack.

It’s easy, however, the changeover to our new portal means the process is slightly different.

As extensively covered in the news, a new and aggressive strain of ransomware recently wrecked havoc to organisations around the globe. To assist policyholders with any concerns, our partner, Storm IT has provided the following risk management tips that we suggest you pass onto your clients.

As people, business and governments all become more reliant on interconnected computer networks, more economic value is digitised and stored online, making the rewards of cybercrime ever more attractive. From financial crime to theft of personal or confidential business information, cybercriminals have plenty of enticing targets.

New website, new products, new security and new broker portal!

We’ve been working hard over the last few months to bring you an evolved Emergence. We welcome you to take a look around the new website and keep up to date with the latest information from the cyber world via our Cyber Hub.

Until now, data breach reporting in Australia has been largely voluntary. While regulated entities have been legally obligated to take reasonable steps to maintain the security of personal information held, there has been no obligation to notify individuals if their personal information is compromised.

Whether you’re just starting your company or you’ve established yourself in an industry, a cybersecurity mistake can wipe out all your progress and growth.

Your CFO gets an e-mail from the CEO asking her to transfer money that’s needed urgently for a new acquisition. Why would she question an e-mail from the CFO?