Swiss insurance company Zurich last week announced new cyber insurance policy endorsements for organizations in the manufacturing industry.
Zurich says many manufacturing companies, particularly mid-sized organizations, have been unaware of the risks posed by cyber threats, which can have a serious impact on production and their reputation.
The company believes the manufacturing industry has become an increasingly tempting target to malicious actors due to the fact that many entities have failed to keep up with other sectors in terms of cyber defenses. That is why it has decided to create new endorsements in response to the threats faced by industrial firms in the United States.
The new insurance for manufacturers covers industrial control systems (ICS), including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. It also covers hardware, software, firmware and data, along with specific input and output devices.
Other exposures covered by the new endorsements include wireless, mobile and other peripheral devices, which, according to the company, “comprise a growing segment of manufacturers’ overall connected environment.”
Finally, the insurance covers backup systems used by companies as part of their defense strategy.
“Historically, manufacturers have presented lower profiles to cyber criminals because they did not have large databases of personal information to be accessed and stolen,” said Michelle Chia, head of Professional Liability and Cyber for Zurich North America. “Today, as manufacturers become more dependent on network connections linking industrial control systems with production machinery, robotics and other vital hardware, they are becoming more attractive targets. If a plant is shut down for any length of time due to a cyber attack, the impact can be significant and long lasting.”
Zurich was sued last year by food and beverage giant Mondelez — the company that owns the Oreo, Cadbury, Milka and Toblerone brands — for rejecting an insurance claim related to the NotPetya attack, arguing that it was an “act of war.”
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Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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