Accenture has partnered with AXA XL to provide a range of new cyber security services.

The professional services firm has struck a partnership deal with the specialty risk division of insurance giant AXA to provide cyber threat assessments, post-breach response and other security services to underwriters, brokers and clients.

The partnership will provide AXA XL with access to Accenture Security’s iDefense threat intelligence team, to help its clients gain a deeper understanding of their cyber risks and to provide them with actionable reports on threats.

This will initially be done for the manufacturing, retail, healthcare and financial services industries among others, and will be expanded to cover the property and casualty insurance industry by early 2020.

Accenture will provide post-breach security services for AXA XL clients outside the US, including incident management and IT forensics.

Sushil Saluja, a senior managing director at Accenture who leads its financial services group in Europe, said: “Cyber risk is one of the biggest threats facing businesses and is profoundly under-insured, in fact, our own research has shown that over the next five years, cyber attacks could cost companies $5.2 trillion in value-creation opportunities.

“While this presents insurers with opportunities, the challenges involved in underwriting cyber insurance are significant, especially given the lack of historical data and the rapid evolution of cyber threats.”

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