It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company (HSB), part of Munich Re, has released the results of its Cyber Risk Survey. According to the study, risk managers are aware of the heightened threat of cyber attacks their businesses face, but even still, a large portion of them don't believe they are doing enough to combat that threat.

HSB surveyed 102 risk managers on-site at the 2015 Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Conference (RIMS) in New Orleans on April 27. The risk managers represented small (7% of risk managers surveyed), mid- (30%) and large-sized (63%) businesses in industries including manufacturing/industrial; retail; financial services; government/military; medical/healthcare; and education.

According to the study, nearly 70% of all busiesses surveyed experienced one hacking incident in 2014 (see breakdown in chart above). However, more than half (55%) of the risk managers don't believe their company is dedicating enough money or trained and experienced personnel to combat the latest hacking technique (below).

They type of information being breached that risk managers said they're concerned about (see above) included personally identifiable information (53%), sensitive corporate information (33%) and financial information (14%).

To combat cyber risk, risk managers said they are most interested in deploying intrusion detection/penetration testing (32%), employee education programs (25%) and encryption (25%). For additional protection, 46% say their business has either purchased cyber insurance for the first time or increased its level of coverage in the last year. Thirty-six percent of businesses surveyed do not have any level of cyber insurance coverage.

The survey also revealed a notable exposure and concern with the use of cloud technology (see below). Loss of confidentiality of information is viewed as the biggest risk (76%), followed by service interruption (16%) and government intrusion (5%).

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Cyber risk survey finds majority of businesses were hacked in 2014

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