Summary: <br> In this episode of the The Security Ledger podcast (#158): the NotPetya malware outbreak in 2017 raised red flags about the potential for malware to pose systemic risk to insurers: affecting broad swaths of the economy. We talk to Bruce McConnell of the East West Institute about how insurers are responding. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> NotPetya spread across Europe and North America at lightening speed. It was one of the<a href="https://securityledger.com/2017/12/notpetyas-cost-fedex-400-million-counting/"> most expensive malware attacks of all time</a>: with damages totaling $10 billion. And, for companies impacted, it was impressively damaging: halting production lines and operations at global corporations in shipping, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. one of the most virulent malware attacks ever. <br> <br> <br> <br> <a href="https://securityledger.com/?s=NotPetya">Read Security Ledger coverage of NotPetya here</a>.<br> <br> <br> <br> But NotPetya was important for other reasons, as well. It <a href="http://spreading%20across%20Europe%20and%20north%20america%20at%20lightening%20speed.%20It%20was%20one%20of%20the%20most%20expensive%20malware%20attacks%20of%20all%20time:%20with%20damages%20totaling%20%2410%20billion.%20And,%20for%20companies%20impacted,%20it%20was%20impressively%20damaging:%20halting%20production%20lines%20and%20operations%20at%20global%20corporations%20in%20shipping,%20pharmaceuticals%20and%20manufacturing.%20one%20of%20the%20most%20virulent%20malware%20attacks%20ever.%20It%20also%20underscored%20the%20prospect%20of%20%22systemic%20cyber%20risk%22:%20the%20ability%20of%20malware">exposed gaps in traditional approaches to information security</a>. For industries like insurance, NotPetya underscored the prospect of “systemic cyber risk”: the ability of a malware, <a href="https://securityledger.com/2018/02/what-the-uk-knows-five-things-that-link-notpetya-to-russia/">believed to be of Russian origin</a>, to cause ripple effects that could spread beyond its immediate victims and throughout an economy. <br> <br> <br> <br> Bruce McConnell is the Executive Vice President at the East West Institute<br> <br> <br> <br> NotPetya’s rapid spread from small Ukrainian firms to some of the biggest companies in the world and the disruption it caused hinted at the kinds of ripple effects a devastating malware outbreak could have if it targeted a commonly used software component or a major services or infrastructure provider. <br> <br> <br> <br> To better understand what systemic cyber risk is all about and how the insurance industry is taking steps to address it, we invited Bruce McConnell, the Executive Vice President of the <a href="https://www.eastwest.ngo/">East West Institute </a>into The Security Ledger podcast to talk. East West has authored a report : <a href="https://e.eastwest.ngo/439P-FJ2-Y797-9053-1/c.aspx">Cyber Insurance and Systemic Market Risk</a>—to provide a framework to better understand and address the systemic nature of cyber risk and the challenges it presents to the burgeoning cyber insurance industry. <br> <br> <br> <br> In this interview, Bruce and I talk about the growing specter of systemic cyber risk and how insurance companies are adapting to that risk. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> As always, you can check our full conversation in <a href="https://www.blubrry.com/the_security_ledger_podcasts/">our latest Security Ledger podcast at Blubrry</a>. You <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-security-ledger-podcast/id680045866?mt=2" target="_blank">can also listen to it on iTunes</a> and check us out on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/securityledger">SoundCloud</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-security-ledger-4/the-security-ledger-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://radiopublic.com/the-security-ledger-WDR2Z9">Radio Public</a> and more. Also: if you enjoy this podcast,
