ACT Resources to Protect Against Hacking

The Big “I" Agents Council for Technology (ACT) has a security alert for all independent insurance agencies: Hackers are focused on targeting industry systems to access valuable data.

Over 12% of all breaches are now within the financial sector, and this focus is only growing. In 2020, over 37 million records were exposed.

And now, these bad actors are trying to get your agency credentials to access quoting systems to obtain data. Unfortunately, we've seen major carrier data breaches where agency credentials have been used to access online quoting and rating systems.

What you can do:

• Safeguard your login and password combinations by developing a protection process.
• Do not share passwords among staff.
• Change passwords frequently—and immediately after staff turnover.
• Don't fall for social engineering, where an external source can pose as a trusted entity to gain access.
• And of course, never post log in or password information on sticky notes, spreadsheets or anything that can be seen.

Take action:

• Invest in a solid agency security process for passwords and information. Use industry resources to ensure cyber preparedness, like ACT's free Agency Cyber Guide 3.0.
• Investigate the use of a password manager.
• Supporting industry password initiatives, such as ID Federation's SignOn Once.

ACT and the Big “I" have many free agency resources for independent agents.