Michael Richards, President of Westwood Insurance Group, issued the following statement:
Insurance industry expert, Michael Richards, of Westwood Insurance Group, has issued an urgent call for healthcare facilities to ensure they have adequate Cyber Security coverage due to conflicts arising in the Middle East.
“We received two warnings last month,” said Richards, “One from the US National Security Agency (NSA), on Oct. 13 and one from leading security firm, Mandiant, on Oct. 27. Both warnings involve hacking groups backed by the The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran.”
• Cyber attacks on US infrastructure including healthcare are expected on to increase as conflicts in the Middle East continue to escalate.
• 27% of US healthcare facilities do not have cyber liability insurance coverage.
• The average cost of a data breach in the healthcare industry is a $9.42 million.
IRGC sponsored groups have targeted US healthcare systems in the past and they have been ramping up their activity in recent months. According to Richards, “Many healthcare systems would not even stand up against attacks by lower level criminal groups, let alone state sponsored ones.”
A 2022 survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 27% of of US healthcare organizations do not have cyber liability insurance, despite the average data breach in the healthcare industry costing $9.42 million.
“Many cybersecurity carriers not only cover you with insurance, they also test your online systems and advise on protecting them against potential attacks,” said Richards. “To avoid a potential catastrophe, it is essential that healthcare organizations seek out cyber insurance coverage as a matter of urgency.”
Michael Richards has over twenty years of experience in the insurance industry. Founded in 2001, his company, Westwood Insurance Group provides risk management solutions tailored for healthcare and senior living facilities. They offer a multidimensional approach to liability mitigation, blending traditional measures with assertive legal strategies to protect their clients.
You can call Westwood on 855-351-7487 or visit their website at: https://westwoodinsurancegroup.com/.
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