Be honest — Does the term ‘cryptography’ make your eyes cross?

The science of secret codes may be more associated with spycraft than actuarial science, but the advanced branch of mathematics has never been more relevant to insurers.

Specific forms of cryptography called privacy enhancing techniques may hold the key to battling insurance fraud by delivering the benefits of data collaboration without the risks of data sharing.

Using cryptography effectively, however, requires carriers to challenge long-held orthodoxies about data privacy and security or to fundamentally rethink the way the industry approaches information management.