Thousands of cyber attacks are launched against the U.S. every day. Zurich and the National Journal hosted an event Wednesday at the Newseum entitled “Cybersecurity: Managing the Risks of the Digital Frontier” to discuss the country’s challenges and goals for cyber security.

In opening remarks for the event, Dennis Kerrigan Jr., Chief Legal Officer for Zurich North America, framed the discussion, explaining that, “cyber security transcends a singular definition” and that he looked forward to the forthcoming conversation on cybersecurity.

House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (TX-10) discussed efforts in Congress to address lacking cyber security measures, especially in light of the recent Office of Personnel Management breach. He explained, “We used to talk about this as the threat of the future, but that threat is really here and now.” Ultimately, Congress is working to develop legislation that will “strengthen our federal networks and our critical infrastructures throughout the country.”

Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Sarah Bloom Raskin explained her efforts to address cyber security threats, which she calls “one of the most pressing operational risks of our time.” She added that this risk is not “a problem that is susceptible to a single solution.” And, that cyber security requires an evolving set of policies to effectively address the wide range of threats against our government and businesses. Raskin also spoke about the importance of connecting government leaders across branches and departments both operationally and through information sharing to improve coordination on managing federal cyber security.

Following one-on-one interviews with the two keynote speakers, Tim Grieves, the current editor-in-chief of National Journal, moderated a panel of cyber experts. Panelists included:

• Richard Bejtlich: FireEye’s Chief Security Strategist,
• Matthew Eggers: U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Director of National Security and Emergency Preparedness
• Robyn Greene: Open Technology Institute’s Policy Counsel
• Robert Knake: Council on Foreign Relations’ Senior Fellow for Cyber Policy,
• Joshua Spence: West Virginia’s Chief Information Security Officer

The event’s speakers and panelists all agreed: the US public and private sectors must make vast improvements in their protection against and response to cyber attacks. Their views varied, however, on the strategies that will enable the U.S. to best achieve greater digital security while also respecting Americans’ right to privacy.

Zurich is dedicated to working with our customers to help them understand and manage cyber risks and will continue to engage with policymakers and industry experts to develop innovative solutions to these risks.

To watch a video recording of today’s event, click here.

You can also read about Zurich North America’s Senior Vice President Catherine Mulligan’s testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee on the state of the cyber insurance market here.