The re/insurance industry is being urged to brace itself for potential attacks on the public sector, as government and election infrastructure pose an under-secured and attractive target for cyber attackers. This is amongst the findings of cyber risk analytics provider, CyberCube’s latest report, which implores government agencies and officials to increase their cyber security measures, to enhance election integrity safeguards.

William Altman, CyberCube’s cyber threat intelligence principal, said: “With the US presidential elections, the public sector becomes an increasingly attractive target for malicious actors seeking to sow chaos and undermine faith in democracy. Moreover, around 64 countries plus the European Union will hold national elections this year, involving nearly half of the world’s population. In some cases, the same cyber threat actors attempting to meddle in the US presidential election will also be active in other countries. Given the potential for significant attacks, bolstering defences in the public sector is paramount in 2024 and beyond.”

The research Global Threat Outlook, H1 2024 also highlights eight sectors that also represent attractive targets, including telecoms, IT, education, retail, arts and entertainment, financial services and, the most exposed of this group: healthcare. Whilst the banking and aviation are still exposed and targeted, they have better cyber security, according to the report.

Mining and agriculture remain opportunity sectors for cyber re/insurers as these sectors are less exposed to cyber threats relative to other industries, yet they still maintain a high level of security, CyberCube maintains.

Richard DeKorte, CyberCube’s cyber security consultant, commented: “CyberCube foresees an escalation in the attacks perpetrated by state-nexus threat actors targeting critical infrastructure. Specifically, Iranian state-sponsored threat actors are likely to target critical infrastructure opportunistically. Russian and Chinese state actors are expected to strategically position themselves to disrupt infrastructure in sectors crucial to the national economy and security of the US and its allies.”

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