“The level of sophistication of cyber attacks is increasing with at least three different ways of using the cyber weapon: cyber sabotage, cyber data theft, and cyber transfer of funds", says Giorgio Aprile, Head of Financial Institutions at Aon Italy, a leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage.

No digital business is immune and, potentially, no country either, even if the number cyber incidents reported is low. "A staggering 90% of companies worldwide recognise they are insufficiently prepared against cyber-attacks", explains Giorgio Aprile. What's more, in the Aon Global Risk Management Survey top managers put cyber crime as the biggest concerns. 

This is the key message emerging from Giorgio Aprile in a recent article published in the Business pages of one of Italy's biggest daily newspapers, Corriere della Sera - CorrierEconomia.

Major cyber attacks are increasingly making headline news, highlighting the critical importance of cyber security. The attack last year on JP Morgan compromised the accounts of 83 million customers, while the Carbanak theft hit 100 financial institutions with total losses of around €1bn. "Organisations in Italy are not yet making cyber risk management a top priority, mainly because major cyber incidents have so far been less common. Globally, cyber risks are underestimated", says  Giorgio Aprile. 

A united front in Europe

Cyber security is a top priority for the European Union, which set out clear goals in its 2012 Cyber Security Strategy for its Digital Agenda. The European Commission has made significant investments for research and innovation through its Horizon 2020 programme with a total budget of €80 billion up until 2020, including priorities on cyber security. It is in the H2020 context that the WISER project has received funding, helping ensure industry stays ahead in the fast moving and ever more important cyber security market, where more online trust means more online opportunities. 

Aon Italia played an instrumental role in securing funding during the proposal phase. The project is now on course to deliver a risk management platform so firms can operate more securely in the digital market. The suite of tools will range from non-invasive self-assessment, and an in-depth monitoring service to detect intrusions and sophisticated models to assess the economic impact of a cyber attack or risk exposure, ultimately leading to the definition of insurance coverage based on measurable parameters. The tools will therefore cater for different challenges and IT skills levels with companies, having a far-reaching impact. 

Giorgio Aprile adds: "Cyber security is central to the digital single market. The strategy announced in May 2015 is aimed at removing regulatory barriers and finally move from 28 national digital markets to a single one". According to the European Commission, a fully functional digital single market could contribute 415 billion euro per year to the EU economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. To ensure companies become cyber savvy, WISER is working with five international partners to roll out the new tools: Atos, Spain; Trust-IT Services Ltd, UK; SINTEF, Norway; XLAB, Slovenia and REXEL Development, France.

Adapted from the original Italian article published on 9 November 2015 in CorrierEconomia - Corriere della Sera: "Rete: Serve un paracadute contro il cyberrisk".