OSINT-y Goodness, №21 — Insurance Information Institute
When I worked for a law firm that specialized in insurance, the Insurance Information Institute was a useful resource to me. Now that Information Security OSINT research has really grown and expanded, I wanted to highlight their site as a place where you can find some interesting facts!
The I.I.I. is a 60-year independent source for data and research related to the insurance industry. Read more about their organization and purpose here. According to their “About us” page, their “mission is to improve public understanding of insurance — what it does and how it works.” So, you are guaranteed to get useful information that isn’t filled with industry jargon. How cool is that?!
I will use this blog post to point out the aspects and data of the I.I.I. site that I feel would be of most interest to Information Security researchers. But, feel free to use the site to look up insurance information for your other interests.
General overview of the I.I.I. site:
Essentially, the site is broken down into thirds.
- Insurance: The Basics
- Research + Data
- Resource Center
I will point out the sub-sections that could be of most use to Information Security professionals.
You would think that the “Disasters + Preparedness” section would scream cybersecurity, but it’s actually the “Business Insurance” section that has items that pertain more to data security. This section has some articles that may help with some insurance decisions.
Check out the “Crime + Fraud” section of this part of the site. The “Facts + Statistics: Identity theft and cybercrime” page should be of the most interest.
Take a look at their offerings like the Glossary and Latest Studies for good information.
Search III.org
Another way to see what the III site has to offer is to do a simple keyword search. For example, I searched for the term “cybersecurity.” Click here to see the results.
I.I.I. Publications
Last, but not least, the real meat and potatoes of this site is the Publications section. So, there’s good news and bad news.
Good news: non-members can see some great information like white papers
Bad news: the really good information is in the I.I.I. Fact Book and that is only available for purchase, or is included with a membership.
Their Fact Book was an invaluable resource when I regularly did insurance-related research. So, here are your options.
(1) Purchase a PDF of the I.I.I. Fact Book in their store for USD $116. Some past issues are available for a lesser cost. Select versions have a less expensive Kindle option.
(2) Membership isn’t cost-effective for individuals, but if you’d still like to consider it you may read about it here. Your best bet is to just purchase the I.I.I. Fact Book and leave membership for industry members.
In closing:
- There is a portion of the I.I.I. site in Spanish. Conceptos Básicos de Seguros
- You can learn more about what they offer through their social media platforms:
- Facebook, Twitter (@iiiorg and @iii_research), YouTube, and LinkedIn
Although this site is obviously specific to the insurance industry, I think you might be surprised by how much value their data could be of use to Information Security OSINT researchers. I feel like in time the I.I.I. will have more cybersecurity-related information that would be even more relevant to InfoSec interests.
