Your PC been hacked? Soon your insurance may pay for it

Your PC been hacked? Soon your insurance may pay for it
KOTA NEELIMA

NEW DELHI, FEB 25: An internet user or a service provider (ISP) in India, so far, has no option if threatened by a hacker except to lodge a police complaint and change the profile of the internet service. Soon, Net users and ISPs can have insurance cover against cyber hacking.

For the first time in India, insurance is being offered against all kinds of cyber crime, including loss of airtime, to the extent of $25 million. The insurance package, which was introduced in the US, UK and Japan last year, will be brought to India by Tata-AIG, a joint venture by the Tatas and American Insurance Group Incorporate.

The insurance will cover reasonable ransom demands, litigation costs, third party liabilities, etc. The product will also offer a reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of the hacker and also a crisis management fund.

‘‘The package has been sent to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for approval and we will get a reply very shortly,’’ Vrinda Valvalkar, vice-president, corporate communications, TATA-AIG.

‘‘The insurance package gets activated as soon as the customer faces cyber crime,’’ she says. The package, which might be available towards the end of the month, would cover cyber hacking, cyber extortion, cyber theft, cyber fraud, cyber impersonation and any other kind of cyber crime.

‘‘It took about a year-and-half for the package to evolve in US and it has already been promoted in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai,’’ says Valvalkar.There are about 15,000 ISPs in India. ‘‘The package would be customised according to the client needs, including taking care of businesses worldwide and specific country-based interests,’’ she says.

Before giving insurance cover a thorough assessment of the company will be done by TATA-AIG. ‘‘In case a company has followed all the traditional world-wide business practices, then the premium would be less. The premium would be high in cases when the company has compromised on business practices and security issues,’’ she says.

The package would also meet the needs of the companies which are online and their services can be accessed by anyone anywhere in the world. ‘‘Any one therefore can come up and say that a particular service can hurt them. In such a case, the insurance package called Duty to Defend would defend the service provider.’’

On the problems of insurance sector entering cyberspace, senior Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal says, ‘‘There are two teething problems. First, this insurance is clearly a business arrangement between two parties with no legal validity. The Information Technology Act does not mention anything about cyber insurance. It would have to be amended very soon to accommodate these aspects.’’

‘‘Secondly, in case there is a dispute between the customer and the insurance company where would it be solved and in court of what jurisdiction?’’ Duggal asks.