A new "industry-first offering" from Cisco, Apple, Aon, and Allianz has been launched, allowing businesses small and large to utilize Apple devices, and Cisco security hardware, and in doing so, qualify for a "enhanced cyber insurance" program protecting the company from the financial impact of a cyber attack.
The program, lannounced on Monday, is multi-fold.To enroll, Aon, one of the four companies in the program, performs a cybersecurity readiness test. Following that, companies implement "Cisco Ransomware Defense" on Apple-provided devices like the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
After both steps are completed, there are more options for insurance offerings underwritten by Allianz, and sold by Aon. The program offers "broader coverage and lower deductibles" to businesses who comply with the program.
The quartet of companies claim that interested customers will:
Gain insights on ways to bolster their security posture through an Aon cyber evaluation.
- Improve their security postures with the Cisco Ransomware Defense solution to better defend against malware, ransomware and other malware-based threats.
- Empower employees with Apple devices they know and love for greater security and amazing productivity
- Access expert security incident response services for swift action in the case of a cyber incident.
- Be able to apply to qualify for enhanced cyber risk insurance underwritten by Allianz.
It appears that the initiative is the first tangible result of Apple CEO Tim Cook's promise for an insurance discount to Apple and Cisco customers was made in June 2017.
"The thinking we share here is that if your enterprise or company is using Cisco and Apple, that the combination of these should make that insurance cost significantly less," Cook said at the time. "This is something we're going to spend some energy on. You should reap that benefit."
Apple and Cisco first announced their collaboration in Aug. 2015, intended to ensure iPhones and iPads were optimized for Cisco networks, and guarantee compatibility in the other direction as well.
Pricing, including what Apple will charge customers for the devices, is not available at present.