By Marie-Gemma Dequae

Marie-Gemma Dequae

In August this year, at least three major energy companies in the Middle East suffered computer virus attacks. The disruption was considerable, although only desk top computers and email were affected, and not production.

These are unlikely to be isolated incidents. Experts warn that an increasing number of viruses will be aimed at the operations of specific industries, companies or countries. It’s not surprising that threats from cyber space are frequently among the top 10 risks quoted by risk managers today.

The risks are continuously evolving with advances in technology and our dependence on it. Tackling such a rapidly moving target is a challenge for organisations. What is the role for the enterprise risk manager when the IT department has responsibility for cyber risks and even has a specialist risk manager? Will the manager of insurable risks be put in an awkward position because coverage is simply not easy to find or insurers are wary about the exposures?

To answer these important questions, FERMA is working with Zurich Insurance and the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services on a project to collect the views of risk managers. We are supporting this initiative because we believe it is important to gain a greater understanding about how the global risk managers’ community views these risks.

The first stage of the project is a survey of risk managers. Please help increase our knowledge on this topic by taking part at /broken-link/ before Friday 7 September.

The survey focuses on the broad information security and privacy risks, their significance within organisations, effective mitigation processes, financial implications and international regulation.

It will look at issues of responsibility within the organisation, primary areas of concern, levels of commitment by senior management to tackling these risks, employee training and incident response plans.

The main topics identified from the study findings will be the focus of a security and privacy webinar to be run by Zurich later this year to which FERMA members will be invited to participate and a subsequent insight report.

Marie Gemma Dequae is FERMA’s scientific advisor and a former President of FERMA.