Beazley | What does cyber protection look like from day 1 to day 600 and beyond?

October 21 2025

Cyber-attacks continue to dominate headlines across the globe and recent breaches highlights the growing reality of cyber risk in today’s hyper-connected world.

Every business, regardless of size, sector or location, is now on the front line, facing increasingly sophisticated and persistent threats from hackers.

Despite this our recent Risk & Resilience report found that 87% of leaders in APAC feel prepared to deal with the evolving cyber threat.

But this confidence may be misplaced, and it’s potentially driving underinvestment in cyber security and leading to underinsurance and gaps in cover. Critically, many are underestimating how far the risks extend, beyond IT and into areas like D&O, where board-level accountability and regulatory scrutiny can have lasting consequences.

Under scrutiny

As businesses begin to learn of the potential cost, perhaps the real challenge comes not in the immediate aftermath of a cyber-attack but when shareholders – including those of private companies, or even a liquidator of a private entity – begin demanding answers to questions such as:

  • How did the threat actors get in?
  • What due diligence was in place and how quickly was the breach identified?
  • How was the breach handled and how was it remediated?
  • What contingency plans did you have in place?
  • Why has the share price been so negatively impacted?

In today’s environment, executives must be proactive in building the right capabilities, insurance cover and operational resilience to manage the full lifecycle of a cyber-attack.

That journey can span from mobilising an effective response on day 1 to navigating complex legal and regulatory scrutiny, potentially all the way to court on day 600 and beyond.

End-to-end solution

To stay protected, businesses of all sizes need end-to-end cyber risk management support, from pre-emptive, always-on threat monitoring to expert incident response and adaptive recovery. All backed by meaningful insurance cover to absorb the worst impacts of an attack.

Crucially, company boards must be able to demonstrate not only that they handled the impact of the attack well, but that they had invested time, money and process in preparing their firm ahead of any attack. This will stand them in good stead if they become subject to a long drawn out legal or regulatory process that puts their decision making in the spotlight.

Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT concern, it’s a core governance issue that belongs firmly on the boardroom agenda.

Boards must go beyond investing in defence; they need to ensure their organisations have the right insurance cover in place to match the scale and complexity of today’s cyber threats.

This is especially critical in regions like APAC, where cyber insurance penetration remains low. In many cases, it’s still viewed as a discretionary spend rather than a strategic safeguard. That mindset can have serious consequences, because when a breach occurs, the fallout doesn’t stop at IT. It reaches the boardroom.

 

 

Nicholas Tey

Regional Manager, Asia – International Financial Lines

Beazley

[email protected] 
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