Due to the increasing number of cyberattacks, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions and Generali decided to come together and offer BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions’ clients an insurance and related services solution enabling them to protect themselves against cyberattacks.
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions wanted to not only spread awareness among its clients towards cyberattacks but to go beyond the usual financing of professional equipment and provide a concrete solution against this risk.
“We already provide insurance services to our clients with the traditional financing of their professional equipment, but we wanted to go further and offer them a simple and efficient solution in case of cyberattacks, which are becoming increasingly common and damaging.”, explains Karine Dufour, Corporate Head of Insurance at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.
Generali already offers a “Digital Protection Guarantee” with the aim to broaden its target base in the SME and property and casualty insurance market through a new distribution channel and via a completely digital subscription mechanism.
“This partnership is an opportunity for Generali to diversify its distribution channels, by offering affinity solutions to key targets identified with new players,” explains Zeina Assaf, Director of Insurance Operations and Solutions and in charge of the Partnerships for the SME and property and Casualty Insurance Market.
A resurgence in cyber-attacks during lockdown, especially those targeting SMEs
In France, 65% of companies have experienced at least one cyber-attack in 2019. In 57% of the cases, these attacks had a direct impact on their activity, affecting mainly production. Two-thirds of French companies (67%) of all sizes were the target of one or more attacks in 2018, compared to 45% the previous year. The average amount of losses related to all cyber incidents among companies reporting an attack in France reached an average of €111,000 in 2019, with an average cost of €49,0002.
SMEs in particular are a prime target for cyber-attackers (the large multinationals having mostly deployed robust IT security frameworks). 66% of SMEs worldwide reported a cyber-attack in the last 12 months3. This is a growing threat, as SMEs experienced a 59% increase in attacks in 2019, the largest increase of any size of enterprise2.
In France, the cumulative cost of cyber-attacks affecting SMEs amounted to over €700 million per year4 between 2016 and 2019.
In addition to affecting the business activity, a cyber-attack can also tarnish the brand image of a company, particularly in the case of data leaks. Since the implementation the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe on 25th May 2018, companies that have suffered a violation of personal data are obligated to notify the authorities or concerned government bodies (like the CNIL in France), and the persons concerned in the event of a high risk to their privacy5. In the first half of 2019, 1035 data violations were reported to the CNIL, involving personal data leaks of more than 800,000 persons.
“It is crucial for the small and medium-sized companies to protect themselves against cyber-risks. With the newer and more hybrid ways of working that combine working on site and remotely, this becomes even more relevant”, explains Bertrand Duterque, Director of Subscription relating to specialised risks for the SMEs and property and casualty insurance at Generali.
COVID-19 and cyber-attacks
When the COVID-19 crisis hit, there was a significant increase in the number of cyber-attacks as hackers saw an opportunity in the sudden increase in remote working and the workload of the IT teams to multiply their phishing attempts.
Some figures for the period between February to April 2020, noted by Generali France:
- There was a 10% increase in phishing operations between February and April.
- The number of security events6 increased by 20% between February and March and then fell again in April.
- The number of security incidents doubled between February and April.
- The rate of threats detected on user posts remained at the usual average in March and April.
A 100% digital protection solution
BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions wished to offer its clients – 86% of whom are SMEs – an insurance and related services solution to enable them to protect themselves and act quickly in the event of an attack. This solution, adapted to today’s needs, is part of a simple subscription model, via a digital platform. July onwards, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions will begin promoting this solution among its customers through mailing.
This ” Digital Protection Guarantee ” marketed by Generali gives access to:
- e-learning modules to raise awareness on cyber-attacks among employees and to adopt the best practices
- 24/7 assistance by IT experts (The experts allow the restoration of the company’s original IT system, the reinstatement of servers, etc.)
- Compensation for damage (damage and loss guarantees, civil liability guarantees and optional fraud guarantees, possible damages to third-party customers or suppliers).
- Support in case of operating losses related to cyber-attacks.
15th July 2020 onwards , this solution will be offered to the clients of BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions.
Sources :
1 Barometer of cybersecurity for companies, OpinionWay Survey for CESIN, January 2020
2 Study on cyber readiness, Hiscox, June 2019. Direct link to the PDF version of the study
32019 Global State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses – Ponemon Institute (October 2019)
4Field study conducted with French SMEs over 3 years between 2016 and 2019 by the Institute for Technological Research SystemX.
5 https://www.cnil.fr/fr/notifier-une-violation-de-donnees-personnelles
6 A security incident is a suspicion of an alert without any significant consequence (Eg : false positive, diagnostic errors, intrusion attempt blocked in time).
About BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions
As the European leader in asset finance, BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions supports the growth of its clients and industrial partners by offering rental and finance solutions with services for their professional equipment.
At the heart of the usage economy, we provide businesses with the flexibility they need to remain competitive and grow in a sustainable way.
Our 3,600 experts support our clients’ and partners’ growth by offering them an increasingly digitalised experience.
In 2019, we financed 346,000 projects for a total volume of 14.1 billion euros in 20 countries, in Europe and also Asia, the United States and Canada.
