EC-Council, the cybersecurity education organization behind the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) credential, has acquired Cyber Insurance Academy to expand professional training across cyber insurance, artificial intelligence (AI) risk and emerging technologies. The Academy will retain its existing brand and leadership under the deal, while using EC-Council’s technical expertise and global network to broaden education for insurers, brokers, underwriters, claims teams and risk managers.
Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Insurance
The acquisition targets a growing challenge for the insurance industry: assessing risks created by technologies that many insurance professionals may not have the technical background to evaluate. As AI becomes embedded in enterprise operations, insurers face new questions about liability, accountability, governance and the potential financial consequences of AI-related incidents.
Cyber Insurance Academy has focused on helping insurance professionals understand cyber risk without requiring them to become cybersecurity specialists. Its programs serve brokers, underwriters, claims professionals and risk managers, with accreditations from organizations including the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), ANZIIF, RIBO and NIBA. The company also says its courses have continuing education approval in more than 45 U.S. states.
EC-Council plans to extend this education model beyond traditional cyber insurance. The expanded portfolio will cover AI risk, emerging technology risk and role-based technology education designed for insurance professionals who need to understand the systems behind the exposures they assess, price and manage.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in risk management. Cybersecurity incidents remain an important concern for insurers, but AI systems, autonomous technologies and other emerging capabilities can introduce risks that do not fit neatly into conventional cyber-risk categories. Insurers need to understand not only whether a system can be compromised, but also how its design, deployment and governance may affect liability and claims.
AI Risk Moves Into Insurance Education
Under EC-Council, cyber insurance will remain the Academy’s core focus, with three areas planned for expansion: AI risk, emerging technology risk and practical training tailored to specific insurance roles.
The AI curriculum is expected to address how AI changes exposure, underwriting, claims and governance across insurance portfolios. Emerging technology training will include areas such as autonomous systems and quantum computing, while role-based learning will help non-technical professionals build working knowledge of technologies relevant to their responsibilities.
The companies are positioning the move as an effort to make insurance expertise more responsive to technological change, rather than simply adding courses about each new trend.
EC-Council Founder and Group CEO Jay Bavisi said technology risk now requires a combination of technical understanding, accountable processes and skilled professionals. Cyber Insurance Academy’s existing insurance expertise, he said, complements EC-Council’s cybersecurity and responsible AI capabilities.
The acquisition also brings together two different areas of specialization. EC-Council contributes cybersecurity and AI knowledge, along with an international training network. Cyber Insurance Academy brings established relationships within the insurance sector and experience developing professional designations for its workforce.
CCIS Certification Updated for the AI Era
As part of the expansion, Cyber Insurance Academy has updated its flagship Certified Cyber Insurance Specialist (CCIS) designation. The new CCIS v2 program adds coverage of AI-driven threats, AI governance and exposures that AI can create across insurance portfolios.
That update is a concrete first step in broadening the Academy’s curriculum. Rather than limiting training to conventional cyber incidents, the revised designation aims to help insurance professionals evaluate how AI-related risks intersect with coverage decisions and portfolio management.
The Academy plans to deliver its wider course portfolio through self-paced learning, role-based certifications, professional designations and enterprise programs for insurers, brokers and managing general agents.
Cyber Insurance Academy will continue to operate under co-founder and CEO Guy Simkin and co-founder, CTO and COO Asaf Armoni. Its brand and existing cyber insurance focus will remain in place.
For learners, the companies say integration with EC-Council will make it easier to incorporate technical expertise into course development. That could help the Academy update its material as threats and technologies change, although the companies have not disclosed financial terms of the acquisition or detailed timelines for the broader curriculum rollout.
A Strategic Expansion Into Technology Risk
The acquisition gives EC-Council a route into a specialized professional education market where technical knowledge must be translated into insurance decisions. For Cyber Insurance Academy, it offers access to a larger cybersecurity and AI knowledge base as it extends beyond its original focus.
The commercial opportunity will depend on whether insurers and intermediaries adopt the expanded training and whether the courses help professionals make more informed underwriting, claims and risk-management decisions. The acquisition itself does not establish how much demand the new programs will attract.
The central premise is straightforward: as technology changes the risks organizations face, insurance professionals need enough technical fluency to understand those risks. EC-Council and Cyber Insurance Academy are betting that this knowledge will become increasingly important across the insurance workforce.
Market Landscape
Cyber insurance sits at the intersection of cybersecurity, enterprise risk management and financial protection. As businesses adopt AI tools and autonomous systems, insurers must consider how these technologies affect existing policies, exclusions, liability and claims assessment. This creates demand for professionals who can interpret technical risks in insurance terms.
Training providers face a related challenge: keeping curricula current as threats, regulations and enterprise technology change. EC-Council’s acquisition gives Cyber Insurance Academy access to a broader technical knowledge base, while the Academy contributes insurance-specific expertise and established professional relationships.
The competitive differentiator will be the ability to turn emerging-technology concepts into practical guidance for underwriting, broking, claims and risk management. The announcement does not include financial terms, revenue targets or independent evidence of expected market demand, so the commercial impact remains to be seen.
Top Insights
- EC-Council has acquired Cyber Insurance Academy, expanding its cybersecurity and responsible AI education business into insurance-focused technology risk training.
- Cyber insurance remains the Academy’s core focus, with planned expansion into AI risk, emerging technologies and role-based professional education.
- The updated CCIS v2 designation adds coverage of AI-driven threats, AI governance and exposures across insurance portfolios.
- Cyber Insurance Academy will retain its brand and leadership under Guy Simkin and Asaf Armoni following the acquisition.
- The expanded programs will target carriers, brokers, managing general agents, underwriters, claims professionals and risk managers.
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