Cyberattacks could become "uninsurable" in the view of Mario Greco, the chief executive of the Zurich Insurance Group.
In remarks published by the Financial Times on Monday, Greco queried what the consequences would be if someone seized control of essential infrastructure. This concerned not just data, but could also put lives at risk, he said.
"What will become uninsurable is going to be cyber," he said. "What if someone takes control of vital parts of our infrastructure, the consequences of that?"
Greco said there was a limit up to which the private sector could take on all losses caused by cyberattack.
He called on governments to set up "private-public schemes" to cope with systemic cyber risk that could not be quantified. The Zurich CEO drew a comparison with systems in some countries set up to cover earthquakes and terrorist attacks.
