Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , Events , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

Cyber Insurers Embrace Cloud Metrics, Prepare for AI Impact

While still an immature market, cyber insurance has progressed quickly in understanding risk assessment. Insurers have moved beyond relying solely on questionnaires filed by CISOs to incorporate external security scanning and cloud metrics aligned with an organization's internal security posture, said Monica Shokrai, head of business risk and insurance at Google Cloud.

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"Insurers are starting to pick up on that and price for it in their underwriting and pricing models. So, the more cloud you use, the more secure you are and, therefore, the higher reduction in risk," Shokrai said. "The cyber insurance industry is a little bit uncertain about how to react to AI. Our position is that AI will help the defenders, but from an insurance perspective, they're trying to evaluate: Should there be an exclusion? Should there be an explicit inclusion? How do we assess the risks of AI, and what's going to happen two, three, four, five years from now from a loss perspective?"

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Shokrai also discussed:

• How the Google Cloud Risk Protection Program streamlines the sharing of security data with insurers;
• The lack of consensus on cyber insurance coverage and policy ambiguities;
• The need for explicit inclusion/exclusion of AI in cyber policies.

Shokrai manages insurance product development and partnerships for Google Cloud's Risk Protection Program. She has more than 15 years of leadership experience.