Customers managing cyber-risk with Microsoft 365's built-in
security controls qualify for savings on At-Bay cyber insurance
policies
REDMOND, Wash., Sept.
29, 2021 /CNW/ -- On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. is
announcing a new multiyear commitment to help the insurance
industry create superior and data-driven cyber insurance products
backed by Microsoft's security solutions. Managing risk is a
critical business objective for all companies. Yet, even with the
adoption of best-of-breed cybersecurity technologies and best
practices, companies can face residual risk due to inconsistent
management of apps and other productivity platforms exploited by a
quickly evolving threat landscape. To bridge this gap, insurance
providers have begun offering policies to help mitigate the impact
of data breaches and ransomware attacks.
This new area of insurance is growing rapidly; however,
uncertainty is common as insurers struggle to acquire and use
dynamic, real-time data needed to mitigate cyber-risk — while
growing threats like ransomware drive urgency.
Given the broad adoption of Microsoft solutions in companies of
all sizes, Microsoft is working with insurers to address their
customers' cybersecurity needs and reduce insurers' own risk of
loss, through increased data visibility and standardized controls.
Insurance carriers, agents, reinsurers and brokers are required to
understand and assess cybersecurity threats for each of their
insureds.
With this complexity, insurers are seeking increased visibility
into each company's security environment and hygiene to better
underwrite new policies. To address this, Microsoft is teaming with
key insurance partners to offer innovative data-driven cyber
insurance products allowing customers to safely share security
posture information through platforms like Microsoft 365 and
Microsoft security solutions. All data and details about a covered
company's technology environment will be owned and controlled
entirely by that customer, but customers can opt-in to securely
share them with providers to receive benefits like enhanced
coverage and more competitive premiums. This model rewards
customers with real savings when adopting cybersecurity best
practices and gives insurers the information they need to
proactively protect their customers against breaches.
Partnership with At-Bay
Today Microsoft announces a partnership under this initiative
with groundbreaking cyber insurance company, At-Bay. Through its
modern approach to risk management, At-Bay assesses the
cyber-risk of every company it insures and provides actionable
insights on how customers can improve their security posture.
Incentivizing the implementation of security controls with improved
policy terms and pricing has strengthened the overall security of
At-Bay's portfolio companies. According to At-Bay, their insureds
are seven times less likely to experience a ransomware
incident than the industry average.
Beginning Oct. 1, businesses in
the United States that use
Microsoft 365 are eligible for savings on their At-Bay cyber
insurance policy premiums if they implement specific security
controls and solutions, including multifactor
authentication and Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
Microsoft is also actively working with At-Bay to identify
additional ways to improve the digital risk exposure of its
customers and proactively address vulnerabilities. This offer will
be available through At-Bay's broker community and available for
customers using any version of Microsoft 365.
Interested businesses can contact their insurance agent to get
started. In addition to these security controls, the level of
savings is dependent on the loss history and individual risk
profile of each business.
"An insurance policy is an effective tool to articulate the
impact of cybersecurity choices on the financial risk of a company.
By offering better pricing to companies that implement stronger
controls, we help them understand what matters in security and how
best to reduce risk," said Rotem
Iram, co-founder and CEO of At-Bay. "Working with Microsoft
enables us to educate customers on the powerful security controls
that exist within Microsoft 365 and reward them for adopting those
controls."
"For cyber insurance to play a meaningful role in overall risk
management, buyers and sellers need the benefit of data and clear
visibility into what is covered and factors either minimizing or
multiplying risk exposure," added Ann
Johnson, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Security,
Compliance & Identity (SCI) Business Development. "Microsoft's
partnership with At-Bay brings important clarity and
decision-making support to the market as organizations everywhere
seek a comprehensive way to empower hybrid workforces with
stronger, centralized visibility and control over cloud
applications boosting security and productivity."
For more insights from Microsoft and At-Bay's partnership, join
the InsureTech Connect (ITC) conference, Oct. 4-6 in Las
Vegas, for a presentation, "Better Together: Microsoft and
At-Bay Team Up to Help SMBs Proactively Manage Cyber-Risk," at
2 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and
every organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.