| The Big “I" Agents Council for Technology has issued a security alert for all independent insurance agencies. Hackers are focused on targeting industry systems to access valuable data. Finance & Insurance is now the third most highly targeted sector of all industries, accounting for over 12% of all data breaches*. Keep in mind that in 2020, a total of over 37 million records were exposed.
And now, these bad actors are trying to get your agency credentials - IDs and passwords – using them to access quoting systems to obtain the data.
ACT has now seen major carrier data breaches where agency credentials have been used to access online quoting/rating systems, and is confident that attempts will only increase to target acquiring agency credentials to access all types of rating systems; carrier agent portals, agency raters, web-based consumer quoting. There is no time to waste: - Safeguard your ID/password combos – Develop a protection process.
- DO NOT share password among staff.
- CHANGE passwords frequently, and immediately after staff turnover.
- DON'T FALL for social engineering, where an external source can pose as a trusted entity to gain access.
- And of course, NEVER post ID/password combos on sticky notes, spreadsheets, anything that can be seen.
Take action: - Invest in a solid agency security process for IDs/passwords. Use industry resources to ensure cyber preparedness, like ACT's free 'Agency Cyber Guide 3.0'.
- Investigate the use of a
password manager.
- Support industry password initiatives, such as ID Federation's 'SignOn Once'.
ACT & the Big “I" have many free agency resources for independent agents in this area. Visit
independentagent.com/ACT to learn more. Please note that there are no known issues or problems regarding Big “I" Markets, we are sharing this industry information alert from our Big “I" Agency Council for Technology colleagues.
*Source: Risk-Based Security, Data Breach Trends in 2020
|