Hiscox creates new cyber platform

Hiscox has launched a new CyberClear Academy, an online interactive suite of cyber training content made up of nine learning modules.

The company said that the platform is designed to help its cyber insurance customers worldwide mitigate and manage their cyber risks.

The Hiscox CyberClear Academy features diagnostic assessments to test existing knowledge and ensure that training is tailored to specific knowledge gaps. Hiscox said that it combines videos and interactive material, as well as refresher modules to help keep cyber security up to date.

The company claims that the platform is intuitive and easy to use, and provides managers with the capability to check their staff’s progress and results. In addition, the course is accredited by GCHQ, the UK’s intelligence agency responsible for cyber security.

Hiscox pointed out that under New York Cybersecurity, and the new General Data Protection Regulation which comes into force across Europe in May 2018, organisations now have a greater obligation to protect the data they hold and process. For many businesses, this will include customer information such as addresses, contact numbers, bank account or credit card details. The Hiscox CyberClear Academy is another way in which businesses can help to manage their regulatory obligations.

Gareth Wharton, Hiscox cyber chief executive officer, said: “Like many other risks, cyber is indiscriminate – it affects businesses of all shapes and sizes. If a business experiences a cyber-attack or breach, there will be many implications – lost revenue as a result of business interruption, the cost of remedial action, as well as the reputational impact – and a big business will have the firepower to recover far quicker than a small business.

“Awareness of the cyber threat is therefore one of the most important parts of cyber risk management. This is where cyber security training can really help. Educating your employees and building your human firewall should not be overlooked - a significant proportion of the cyber insurance claims we see are people related; somebody who inadvertently clicks on a suspicious link, or loses a device containing sensitive business information. Our recent Cyber Readiness Report highlighted that there are still too many cyber ‘novices’, so we want to do our bit to create more cyber ‘experts’.”