Travelers Institute Hosts Symposium in Illinois to Help Businesses Prepare for and Recover from a Cyber Breach

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV, today will host an educational symposium, Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore®, aimed at helping businesses tackle evolving cyber threats, the second biggest business concern in the 2018 Travelers Risk Index.

Timed to coincide with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the symposium will address the various types of cyber exposures that companies are facing, with a particular focus on commonly targeted organizations such as small businesses. Eighty-five percent of Travelers Risk Index survey respondents from small businesses reported feeling confident that their company has implemented best practices for cybersecurity. However, many of those organizations may be unprepared for a cyber attack, as the same survey showed that just 19 percent of small businesses said they have written a business continuity plan and only 18 percent said they have assessed the cybersecurity of vendors with access to their data.

"Small business owners may be underestimating what it takes to prevent or overcome a cyber incident," said Edward Chang, Second Vice President, Cyber Risk Management at Travelers. "This symposium will provide them with an opportunity to hear insights from top cybersecurity leaders and learn the most effective preventive measures to help protect themselves against a growing threat."

The symposium will be held in partnership with VEDC, a nonprofit business development organization that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their business through education, empowerment and small business loans.

"Small and medium-sized businesses typically have much of the same valuable information as the larger enterprises whose data breaches make the news, but many don't devote the attention to security for a host of reasons, such as a belief that it is a larger business issue or a lack of resources," said Colin Battersby of McDonald Hopkins, who will participate in the panel discussion. "But the out-of-pocket costs and the reputational damage associated with a data breach can be fatal to a smaller business, which makes securing and protecting data a top priority in a sound business risk mitigation strategy."

The event will take place at the Chicago Marriott in Oak Brook, Illinois, at 11:30 a.m. CT and will feature a keynote address from Joel Robertz, Special Agent, Counterintelligence and Cyber Program, Chicago Field Office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, followed by a panel discussion on managing cyber threats. Joan Woodward, President of the Travelers Institute and Executive Vice President of Public Policy at Travelers, will moderate the discussion and be joined by:

• Colin Battersby, Counsel, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice, McDonald Hopkins
• Edward Chang, Second Vice President, Cyber Risk Management, Travelers
• Joel Robertz, Special Agent, Counterintelligence and Cyber Program, Chicago Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Matthew Wernz, Staff Attorney, Federal Trade Commission, Midwest Region

Visit the Travelers Institute's website for more information on the Cyber: Prepare, Prevent, Mitigate, Restore symposium series.

About the Travelers Risk Index

Hart Research conducted a national online survey of 1,201 business decision makers from June 9-23, 2018. The survey was commissioned by Travelers.

About the Travelers Institute

The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and to the financial services industry more broadly. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers' senior management, as well as the technical expertise of many of Travelers' underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information, analysis and solutions to public policymakers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.

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