Microsoft partners with At-Bay to offer cyber insurance
Microsoft has created a new multi-year commitment to help the insurance industry ‘create superior and data-driven cyber insurance products backed by Microsoft's security solutions.’
The tech giant is teaming with key insurance partners to offer innovative data-driven cyber insurance products allowing customers to safely share security posture information through platforms like Microsoft 365 and Microsoft security solutions. All data and details about a covered company's technology environment will be owned and controlled entirely by that customer, but customers can opt-in to securely share them with providers to receive benefits like enhanced coverage and more competitive premiums.
Under this new initiative, Microsoft has announced a new partnership with the cyber insurance company, At-Bay.
At-Bay uses a modern approach to risk management, assessing the cyber-risk of every company it insures and provides actionable insights on how customers can improve their security posture. According to At-Bay, their insureds are seven times less likely to experience a ransomware incident than the industry average.
Reducing cyber risk
From October 1, businesses in the United States that use Microsoft 365 are eligible for savings on their At-Bay cyber insurance policy premiums if they implement specific security controls and solutions, including multifactor authentication and Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
"An insurance policy is an effective tool to articulate the impact of cybersecurity choices on the financial risk of a company. By offering better pricing to companies that implement stronger controls, we help them understand what matters in security and how best to reduce risk," said Rotem Iram, co-founder and CEO of At-Bay. "Working with Microsoft enables us to educate customers on the powerful security controls that exist within Microsoft 365 and reward them for adopting those controls."
Microsoft is also actively working with At-Bay to identify additional ways to improve the digital risk exposure of its customers and proactively address vulnerabilities. This offer will be available through At-Bay's broker community and available for customers using any version of Microsoft 365.
"For cyber insurance to play a meaningful role in overall risk management, buyers and sellers need the benefit of data and clear visibility into what is covered and factors either minimising or multiplying risk exposure," added Ann Johnson, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Security, Compliance & Identity (SCI) Business Development. "Microsoft's partnership with At-Bay brings important clarity and decision-making support to the market as organisations everywhere seek a comprehensive way to empower hybrid workforces with stronger, centralised visibility and control over cloud applications boosting security and productivity."
