Data protected by 'wing and a prayer' - WPA

clock • 1 min read

WPA has accused financial service companies of relying on "wings and prayers" to provide security for their clients' data.

The private medical insurance provider has become first UK insurer be accredited for Information Security and believes others need to follow its lead.

It is also one of the country's first financial services companies awarded the British and International Standard for Information Security (BSI ISO/IEC 27001:2005), considered the benchmark for protecting sensitive and valuable information.

Charlie MacEwan, Corporate Communications Director at WPA, noted that over recent years, concerns about how companies handle sensitive medical and financial information have increased exponentially.

"With more breaches being more widely reported, and some eye-watering fines, this makes it something that companies cannot afford to get wrong," says MacEwan.

He also raised concerns about measuring how much, beyond lip service, is really being done to prevent data loss.

Julian Stainton, chief executive of WPA, adds, "BS:ISO 27001 is a critical milestone for organisations involved in Financial Services, too many of whom rely on wings and prayers to protect their customers' intimate information."

In recent years, the Government and many large companies have failed to protect their information and data assets.

Most recently, HSBC was fined £3m for failing to protect its customers' data, while in 2007, both Nationwide Building Society and Aviva (then Norwich Union) were fined £980,000 and £1.26m respectively.

HM Revenue and Customs also fell victim to a data security lapse in 2007, losing CDs containing the personal details of 25 million people.

 

More on PMI

General and Medical Healthcare joins amii
PMI

General and Medical Healthcare joins amii

PMI provider

Jaskeet Briah
clock 04 November 2024 • 1 min read
Benenden Health names Tom Woolgrove as CEO
PMI

Benenden Health names Tom Woolgrove as CEO

Former CII president

Jaskeet Briah
clock 29 October 2024 • 1 min read
Societal ageing and climate change adding to healthcare challenges
PMI

Societal ageing and climate change adding to healthcare challenges

AXA research shows

Jaskeet Briah
clock 14 October 2024 • 2 min read

Highlights

COVER Survey: Advisers damning of protection insurer service levels

COVER Survey: Advisers damning of protection insurer service levels

"It takes longer than ever to get underwriting terms"

John Brazier
clock 12 October 2023 • 5 min read
Online reviews trump price for young people selecting life and health cover

Online reviews trump price for young people selecting life and health cover

According to latest ReMark report

John Brazier
clock 11 October 2023 • 2 min read
ABI members with staff neurodiversity policy nearly doubles

ABI members with staff neurodiversity policy nearly doubles

Women within executive teams have grown to 32%

Jaskeet Briah
clock 10 October 2023 • 3 min read