As geopolitical tensions rise, cyber risk is no longer a theoretical concern; it’s a board-level issue demanding immediate attention. In our recent webinar, leaders from Axio, Dragos, and Lockton came together to unpack how wartime dynamics are reshaping cyber threats, operational risk, and insurance coverage, and what organizations can do about it.
Mark Stacey, VP of Risk and Resilience at Dragos, opened the discussion with a clear message: while cyber risk has always existed, adversary capability is accelerating, which is especially true during times of geopolitical conflict.
Dragos focuses on operational technology (OT), where digital attacks can create real-world, physical consequences. Recent conflicts have shown that cyber activity often accompanies cyber-kinetic attacks with retaliatory and opportunistic campaigns targeting internet-facing systems, legacy assets, and critical infrastructure.
Key threat trends include:
Industries that are at the highest risk include Energy, Oil and Gas, Water and Wastewater, Manufacturing, Food and Beverage, Chemicals, and Logistics. Importantly, Mark emphasized that Dragos avoids attribution to specific nation-states, instead focusing on observable behaviors, tactics, and capabilities.
Despite the seriousness of these threats, Stacey emphasized an encouraging takeaway: defense is doable. Organizations that focus on the basics – visibility, detection, and resilience – are often successful even against well-resourced adversaries.
Scott Kannry, Co-Founder and CEO of Axio, built on that foundation by addressing a familiar scenario: the call from a CEO or board member asking, “What would happen to us if we were attacked?”
Cyber Risk Quantification (CRQ) helps organizations answer that question by translating cyber events into business and financial impact. Rather than abstract risk scores, CRQ breaks down how attacks affect operations, revenue, safety, and recovery.
Kannry shared three real-world-inspired scenarios:
Scott underscored that isn’t just the headline loss number; it’s understanding where losses come from and which scenarios deserve the most attention. That clarity enables better prioritization, targeted controls, and smarter resilience planning.
The “million-dollar question,” addressed by Chuck Jainchill, U.S. Cyber & Technology Product Leader at Lockton, centered on cyber insurance, and specifically, war exclusions.
Cyber insurance policies include war exclusions because war is considered a systemic risk that private insurers cannot absorb at scale. However, Jainchill emphasized a critical point: a cyber incident occurring during a war does not automatically trigger a war exclusion.
Key takeaways include:
He also cautioned that many cyber policies exclude physical damage and infrastructure failures, meaning some cyber-driven losses may fall outside traditional cyber coverage and require coordination with property, casualty, or specialty insurance policies.
In a closing “speed round,” each speaker highlighted a common board-level misconception:
The unifying theme of the discussion was simple but powerful: clarity before consequences. Organizations that understand how cyber events could realistically impact their operations, finances, and coverage are far better positioned to respond and recover.
In an era where cyber risk and geopolitical risk are increasingly intertwined, resilience starts with understanding what could happen, how it would unfold, and what you can do today to prepare. That’s why Axio is offering complimentary CRQ Insights Reports to help organizations understand their cyber risk exposure in the context of wartime threat activity.
A CRQ Insights Report translates your specific operational environment into quantified loss scenarios, giving leadership the clarity they need to act.
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