Sri Lanka Insurance hosts Cyber Risk Awareness Forum

Top left: Central Bank of Sri Lanka Assistant Governor K.G.P. Sirikumara

Top right: Transasia Soft Tec Chief Operating Officer Vijayanand Subramaniam (L) and Turtlemint Director Abhyudaya Das (R)

Bottom right (from left): Imperial Specialty Insurance Brokers Chief Executive Officer Thanuja Danwatte, SLIC Chief Executive Officer Chandana L. Aluthgama, SLIC Chief Operating Officer – General Insurance Priyantha Perera 

Bottom left: Participants at the Cyber Risk Awareness Forum 

Sri Lanka Insurance recently organised a Cyber Risk Awareness Forum for bankers of Sri Lanka at Ramada, Colombo. 

It was attended by Chief Executive Officers, Chief Risk Officers and Chief Information Officers of Licensed Commercial Banks. Central Bank of Sri Lanka Assistant Governor K.G.P. Sirikumara was the keynote speaker at this special forum.

Banks and financial institutions are one of the industries that are most vulnerable for cyber risks in any economy. Understanding the severity of cyber risks banks may face, Sri Lanka Insurance came forward to facilitate the much needed Cyber Risk Awareness forum for the banking sector of Sri Lanka. This special awareness session was carried out with Turtlemint from India, which is an insurance and reinsurance broker company. 

This special forum was organised to educate the decision makers of the banking sector about the potential cyber risks and vulnerabilities faced by banks and financial institutions, challenges Chief Risk Officers, Chief Technical Officers, Chief Information Officers have to face, proactive measures a bank needs to take to mitigate cyber risks and enhance the overall cybersecurity position of the bank and encourage them to develop and implement comprehensive cybersecurity policies and procedures. Furthermore, the session stressed on the importance and benefits of having a cybersecurity insurance as a precautionary measure.

An interesting and important line up of topics were discussed during the awareness session such as roles and responsibilities of external or ancillary stakeholders, exiting policies and regulations and the Data Protection Act 09 of 2022. The keynote speech addressed the compliance framework of cyber insurance and impact on the banking sector which was delivered by CBSL Assistant Governor K.G.P. Sirikumara. Furthermore, the resource panel had engaging sessions which gave the opportunity for the participants to have direct dialog and have their queries answered. 

Going beyond their call of duty, Sri Lanka Insurance as a responsible corporate citizen continues to add value to its customers, business community and the public through numerous initiatives. The organisation saw that creating awareness on cyber risk is a need of the hour hence the organisation took the necessary steps to arrange this successful program.