A risk retention group is an insurance structure in which members pool certain liability risks and share coverage through a member-owned entity. It is commonly used by businesses in the same industry to spread losses, manage premiums, and tailor policies to specialized exposures.
In cyber security, risk retention groups matter because they centralize sensitive policy, claims, financial, and member data. That makes them attractive targets for ransomware, phishing, and account takeover, especially when attackers want leverage over regulated records or business continuity. Defenders should protect these environments with strong privileged access controls, multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, logging, tested backups, and monitoring for unusual claims-system or document access. If a threat actor disrupts a risk retention group, the impact can extend to many member organizations, not just the insurer itself.