Daily Market Update - November 19, 2014

Encryption could be adding to your online risk… Transactional risk insurance increasing says Marsh… Chance of being struck by lightning rising due to climate change…

Risk Management News

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Encryption could be adding to your online risk
The growing use of encryption to address privacy concerns is creating perfect conditions for cyber criminals to hide malware inside encrypted transactions. That’s the warning from technology firm Blue Coat Systems which says that 8 out of 10 top global websites use encryption on part or all of their website; Google, Amazon and Facebook use https for all data transmission now. The firm’s latest security report, “2014 Security Report – The Visibility Void” explains that encrypted traffic is becoming more popular with cyber criminals because it is easier for them to hide malware which they believe can’t be seen. It concludes that corporate security demands must be balanced with privacy policies and applicable compliance requirements. 
 
Transactional risk insurance increasing says Marsh
New figures from global insurance and risk management firm Marsh show that firms are increasingly using transactional risk insurance for their most complex transactions. There is significantly more demand in the emerging economies and continuing demand in the US. Karen Beldy Torborg from Marsh says that awareness of how insurance can mitigate risk in mergers and acquisitions is rising, accounting for the growing uptake.
 
Chance of being struck by lightning rising due to climate change
Scientists are warning of another consequence of climate change; an increased chance of being struck by lightning. David Romps from the University of California Berkeley says that a warmer climate makes thunderstorms more likely and more explosive. According to the US National Weather Service there is a 1 on 12,000 chance of a person being struck by lightning, but Romps and his colleagues have calculated that those odds will drop to 1 in 8,000 by 2100. While still highly unlikely there is also the increased chance of damage to property from lightning strike and experts say that fires started by lightning tend to be larger and therefore harder to control and extinguish than ‘man made’ ones. 

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