CFC, BitSight partner to ease cyber underwriting process

Specialist lines underwriting agency CFC said it now has a formal partnership with cybersecurity ratings agency, BitSight Technologies.

CFC will use BitSight’s ratings tool to provide insight into the cyber threats that their clients face. Ratings are calculated on a daily basis by drawing on vast amounts of publicly accessible data, including observed security events involving botnets, malware distribution and email server configuration, which are then assessed for severity, frequency and duration.

For CFC, these security ratings remove the need for more intrusive underwriting methods such as long questionnaires, on-site audits and software implementations.

CFC Director Graeme Newman comments: “We are incredibly excited about our partnership with BitSight. Their innovative analytic tools will provide an extra dimension to our underwriting and provide huge benefits to our insureds, through increased visibility of their security posture and active security alerts.”

As part of the partnership, all of CFC’s clients will receive proactive alerts along with actionable information to mitigate risks when their security ratings drop significantly, and they will have access to BitSight services as an added resource.

“BitSight’s partnership with CFC marks a significant turning point in our efforts to broaden the adoption of Security Ratings in the cyber insurance market and across the world,” says Ira Scharf, general manager of insurance at BitSight. “This partnership with CFC, who are a leading provider of cyber insurance worldwide, will help to cement our status as the global standard in the security ratings industry.”