As Bangladesh marches rapidly towards its vision of becoming a ‘Digital Bangladesh’, we are witnessing a remarkable expansion of technology-driven services, online platforms, mobile banking, and data-centric commerce in our daily lives. Standing here in 2014, if we take a closer look, it becomes evident that alongside our sturdily built technological infrastructure, a new era of invaluable assets is taking shape—what we now term ‘Digital Assets’. Yet regrettably, no effective insurance framework has been established in our country to safeguard these multi-million-taka assets and manage their inherent risks, posing a major concern for our future economic security.
A glance at our current insurance sector reveals that it remains largely constrained by legacy practices and conventional rules. While there is an abundance of discussions and policies surrounding life, fire, shipping, or motor insurance, coverage for technology-related risks is virtually non-existent. This gap persists despite our national economy growing increasingly reliant on digital ecosystems by the day. Online financial transactions in the banking sector are gathering pace; mobile financial services such as bKash and Dutch-Bangla Bank—launched since 2011—are swiftly reaching the doorsteps of everyday citizens; and our domestic software and IT services sector is carving out a formidable position in the international market. In all these arenas, proprietary company information, customer data, custom-built software, and operational digital platforms have become the core assets. Nevertheless, should these precious assets be compromised by an unforeseen cyber attack, data breach, or catastrophic technological failure, our country currently offers no insurance protection whatsoever to cover the losses.
Looking at the legal landscape, we encounter a similar ambiguity. Although our Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act was enacted, its scope remains largely restricted to curbing cybercrime and penalising offenders. No structured policy framework exists to determine the monetary valuation of an organisation’s digital assets, quantify losses resulting from a cyber attack, or outline how compensation should be claimed through insurance. Consequently, if a bank, a fintech startup, or a young tech entrepreneur faces a major data disaster today, they must bear the brunt of that massive financial blow entirely on their own. This alone is enough to derail a budding or expanding venture in an instant.
It is precisely here that the international landscape serves as an eye-opener. Looking at global markets, ‘cyber insurance’ in developed nations is no longer viewed as a luxury, but rather as an indispensable business shield. World-renowned insurers such as Lloyd’s of London, AIG, and Marsh are already transacting billions of dollars in cyber insurance premiums across US and European markets. They offer comprehensive financial protection to enterprises against complex risks such as major data breaches, system downtime, digital extortion, and customer data leaks. This global reality demonstrates that digital assets worldwide are now accorded the exact same weight as physical assets.
If our country lacks appropriate insurance protection in contrast to this global trajectory, a severe economic strain lies ahead. The dream of attracting desired global investment into our IT sector will be gravely undermined. International investors invariably seek capital safety and robust risk management assurances. They want to know what financial fallback exists should the technology platforms or data infrastructure they invest in suffer damage. Without such insurance facilities available locally, Bangladesh risks being classified as a high-risk destination in global markets. Simultaneously, our young domestic entrepreneurs will hesitate to undertake ambitious digital ventures, knowing that the entire burden of any potential failure or loss falls squarely on their shoulders.
Thus, we must pose a clear question to ourselves today: Are we to limit our responsibility merely to constructing new tech infrastructure and building apps, or shall we give equal thought to their comprehensive security and risk management? The reality is that as our digital assets grow, so too will the attention drawn from cybercriminals. Introducing cyber insurance in Bangladesh to keep pace with the world is now an urgent necessity of our time.
Addressing this situation requires immediate policy and institutional measures. Firstly, our economic and legal regulatory frameworks need a simple, contemporary definition of what constitutes a ‘Digital Asset’. Unless corporate data, proprietary software, and digital content are formally recognised as institutional assets, formulating insurance policies for them will remain impossible. Secondly, the domestic insurance industry must treat ‘cyber risk’ as a distinct and urgent category of exposure. Here, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) can play a pivotal role by encouraging insurance companies to launch modern, time-appropriate policies.
Thirdly, compulsory cyber insurance coverage—alongside baseline cyber security protocols—should be mandated across sensitive sectors like banking, telecommunications, and IT, as these present the highest concentration of digital risk in our economy. Fourthly, a positive shift in mindset is required across businesses of all scales. Many of our business owners still fail to perceive their data and technology frameworks as core assets. Unless this perspective shifts, no regulations will yield meaningful results in practice.
This moment marks a vital crossroads for Bangladesh’s entire economic and technological future. If we fail to focus on protecting digital assets now and neglect to establish a resilient insurance framework, our economy will be exposed to immense risk during any future global or localized technological crisis. The grand vision of building a ‘Digital Bangladesh’ will achieve true fruition only when we embrace security, risk management, and insurance protection with the same sincerity that we bring to the expansion of new technologies.
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