Former DHS Official Announces Plan To Sell Cyberattack Insurance

Tim Cushing techdirt.com Our nation's top security guards are all retiring to go into the cybersecurity business. Former NSA chief Keith Alexander is asking (only) $1million/month for his cybersecurity consultations, which apparently include the use of patents he developed completely unrelated to his NSA work in his basement during his spare time. Now, former top DHS official Tom Ridge is getting into the cybersecurity business, albeit one nowhere near as glamorous as Alexander's rockstar-level consulting service. Instead of showing up occasionally to offer his expertise (and collect paychecks) on cyberattack preparedness, Ridge will be performing the most "everyman" of services: selling insurance.

Ridge on Monday announced a new cyber insurance package that he said should make it easier for companies to safeguard their networks and their bottom lines. “What we have seen is the sophistication of these attacks continue to elevate,” Ridge said at a launch event in London, according to Bloomberg news service. “Who would have thought that JPMorgan, with its security budget, could be hacked into? Now a lot of people are thinking if it could happen to them, it could happen to us too.” The first Homeland Security secretary’s new company, Ridge Insurance Solutions Company, is teaming up with the insurance giant Lloyd’s of London to sell cyber insurance coverage.

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