How to secure yourself from Cyber Fraud

Cyber Insurance: a need of time!!

Today, cyber risk is the most discussed risk. Monetary losses or psychological trauma due to cyber fraud or harassment are the biggest nightmares of any individual in today’s online world. India has the 2^nd largest internet user base in world. Cyber crime incidence is on the rise at a much faster pace than one can imagine. The nature of risk is far more dynamic and possibly explosive in many situations. Pune based Cosmos Cooperative bank was the recent malware exposed bank suffering with 94cr loss. In 2017 Union bank of India was hacked and a $171 million was transferred from the bank’s account without the bank’s authorization. Wannacry ransom ware attack was estimated to have affected more than 230,000 computers in one single day. India was the 3^rd most affected country by Wannacry attack. There have been cases of mobile phone applications of banks being hacked by cyber criminals. The pilferage of personal information and money in digital wallets has cost banks and individuals millions of Rupees.  Therefore, cyber use is not without risk.

Not surprisingly General Insurance companies have come up with ‘cyber policies’ to cover individuals against such risks. The cover provides protection against cyber attacks and threats, helping customers safeguard their reputation, potential data breach and losses in cases of any financial or sensitive information stolen or misused.

Cyber liability Insurance has been around in International markets for more than a decade. However, Indian insurance policies have started for only few years now. Cyber insurance policies have turned into a basic need in our country, where banking is increasingly turning digital. Most banks and e-commerce companies have been buying large covers. While the large lenders have cyber insurance covers, but many have only the ‘Bankers Blanket Bond’.  This bond is a 40 year old insurance policy designed for an era before banking moved online. This policy was designed to cover risks like cash-in-transit, bank robberies, physical frauds and forged documents, but not losses caused by malware.

We like the convenience of online financial transactions, but are not cautious of the risks. We can now buy insurance to protect ourselves from cyber frauds. The awareness about cyber covers among retail individual has been limited. This post is to create awareness among all Internet Users.

In my next post I will be writing about which all policies we have in India and their coverage.

The Falling Rupee :-Meaning,Reason & Impact

The rupee is hitting a fresh low everyday putting RBI and economy under pressure.The rupee, which is the worst performer among emerging market Asian currencies,has depreciated close to 2% against the dollar in this month so far.
.
What the rupee's fall means :
Importers are hit,exporters have gained,foreign holidays and education abroad are costlier.With international crude prices rising and India's trade deficit widening, the economy is badly impacted.

Why has the rupee been falling ?
There are 3 major reasons-

• Global crude oil prices are on a upswing,fueling concerns over India's current account deficit & inflation risks. 'Rising crude oil prices are a drag on the Indian economy & fuel inflation concerns, as it is a major driver of our current account deficit. India imports around 80% of its crude oil requirement & higher crude oil prices risks widening India's current A/C deficit & adding inflation risks.
• Global oil prices have gained as US put pressure on its allies to halt purchase of Iranian supplies.
• Overseas investors have pulled out nearly $7 million from Indian debt & equity market since the start of this year.Expecting US interest rates to go up further, FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investment) will prefer to invest in their home country as the arbitrage gain while investing in India and emerging markets will decline.

What is the Impact ?
  To YOU-

• A weak rupee makes overseas travel costlier.
• Imported goods like computer,mobile phones & crude oil will get costlier
• It will promote oil companies to hike petrol & diesel prices
• Costlier transport fuel will knock up prices of most goods & stoke inflation
• Elevated inflation will promote RBI to raise lending rates
• It will also keep interest rate high to maintain India's attractiveness as a debt market 
• High interest rate will push home loans EMI
• Domestic tourism could grow as more tourist will visit India since their currency now buys more here.

To Inflation-
One of the first visible effects of currency depreciation is the country's import becomes more expensive & exports cheaper.The reason is simple. It takes more rupee to pay for the same quantum of imports & fewer dollars for a buyer to pay for the same quantity of exports.
More expensive imports are likely to drive inflation upward, especially in India where input products constitute a large part of our inputs.

To GDP-
Costlier inputs & the subsequent increase in the prices of finished goods will have a positive impact on GDP. But the consequent decrease in demand due to higher price will nullify it.