How a Coin Show Can Teach Tech Companies to Lower Cyber Risk and Insurance Premiums

Tech companies face constant pressure to deliver fast—but at what cost? Bugs, breaches, and breakdowns can tank your reputation, derail projects, and send insurance premiums soaring. The good news? You don’t need a crystal ball to spot avoidable risks. Sometimes, the best lessons come from unexpected places—like a packed coin show floor.

Lessons from High-Stakes Environments: Attending the 2025 Rosemont/Chicago Great American Coin Show

I wandered through the 2025 Great American Coin Show in Rosemont last spring, and one thing was clear: this wasn’t your average flea market. Every dealer, every transaction, every handling of a rare coin was steeped in protocol. No one handed over a $50,000 Morgan dollar without verifying its history, authenticity, and chain of custody.

Sound familiar? It should. Tech companies manage assets just as valuable—code, data, algorithms—but often with less rigor. That’s a risk insurers notice. What if we treated source code like a rare proof coin? What if we handled access like a numismatist handles a slabbed MS-65? The parallels are surprisingly practical.

Insurance and Risk Management: The Coin Show Analogy

Coin dealers operate in a world where trust is earned, not assumed. They’ve built systems to verify, protect, and track assets—and those systems mirror core principles of cyber risk management and insurability.

• Authentication – A coin doesn’t get into a PCGS holder without expert inspection. Your code shouldn’t enter production without verification. Use Git with signed commits and enforce code signing. Think of it as your digital grading service.
• Handling Protocols – Coins are touched only with gloves. Your employees should only touch systems with the least privilege. IAM tools like Okta or Azure AD aren’t optional—they’re your gloves.
• Provenance Tracking – Every coin has a documented history. Your software dependencies, patches, and releases need the same. Use tools like Snyk or Dependabot to track updates and flag risky changes.

Enhancing Cybersecurity Through Rigorous Verification

At the show, I watched a dealer use a loupe, a magnet, and a digital scale to authenticate a coin in under 30 seconds. No second chances. No room for error. In tech, we face similar threats—malware, tampering, supply chain attacks—but often react too late.

Implementing Code Signing and Secure Dependencies

Your source code is your crown jewel. Treat it like a rare coin. Code signing ensures it hasn’t been tampered with. Here’s how to sign a Git commit with GPG—simple, but powerful.


# Example: Using GPG to sign a Git commit
git config --global user.signingkey YOUR_GPG_KEY_ID
git commit -S -m "Secure feature implementation"


And don’t forget dependencies. A single compromised package can ripple through your system. Always verify checksums before installing anything.


# Example: Verifying a package integrity with SHA256
sha256sum downloaded-package.tar.gz


Intrusion Detection and Real-Time Monitoring

A coin dealer doesn’t just hope no one swaps a real coin for a fake. They watch. Constantly. Your network deserves the same scrutiny.

• Deploy Snort or Suricata to catch network intrusions early.
• Use Splunk or the ELK stack to centralize logs and spot anomalies.
• Set up alerts for login attempts from unusual locations or times.

“Trust, but verify.” – That old mantra? It’s not just for Cold War diplomats. It’s the heart of cybersecurity and insurance risk assessment.

Risk Mitigation Through Modern Development Tools

The coin show floor was organized. Every dealer had a system. No chaos. No guesswork. Tech teams need that same structure—not just to avoid bugs, but to prove to insurers they’re a safe bet.

Automated Testing and CI/CD Pipelines

No one buys a coin without checking for wear or damage. Your code shouldn’t go live without testing. Automated tests catch issues early—before they cost you a breach or a premium hike.

Here’s a basic CI pipeline using GitHub Actions. It runs tests on every push. Simple, but it builds trust—internally and with insurers.


# Example: GitHub Actions CI workflow
name: CI Build
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Set up Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node@v2
with:
node-version: '14'
- name: Install dependencies
run: npm install
- name: Run tests
run: npm test


Why it matters:

• Tests run instantly—no more “it worked on my machine” excuses.
• Fewer regressions mean fewer incidents mean lower premiums.
• Faster, safer deployments build stakeholder confidence.

Static Code Analysis and Linting

Coin experts use tools to analyze metal. You can do the same with code. Static analysis tools catch vulnerabilities before they become headlines.

• SonarQube – Spots security flaws, bugs, and messy code. Like a code inspector.
• ESLint – Enforces standards. Prevents sloppy errors.
• Bandit – Scans Python for common security risks.


# Example: Running Bandit on a Python project
bandit -r my_project/


Liability Management: Preparing for the Worst

At the show, I saw a dealer calmly handle a dispute over a coin’s grade. He had documentation, photos, and a third-party review. No panic. No lawsuits. That’s risk management in action.

Incident Response Planning and Documentation

When a breach happens, time is your enemy. Have a plan. Define who does what. Set clear communication rules. And practice it—just like a coin show dealer rehearses a high-value sale.

• Assign roles: CTO handles tech, legal handles compliance, comms handles messaging.
• Log everything. Photos, timestamps, access records—these are your audit trail.
• Run tabletop drills. Simulate a ransomware attack. See how your team performs.

Compliance and Audit Trails

Insurers love documentation. So do regulators. Centralized logging makes both happy.

• ELK Stack (Logstash + Elasticsearch + Kibana) – Great for searchable, visual logs.
• Fluentd + CloudWatch – Ideal for AWS environments.
• Syslog-ng – Reliable for on-prem setups.


# Example: Centralized logging setup with Fluentd
@type forward
port 24224


@type elasticsearch
host localhost
port 9200
logstash_format true



Reducing Insurance Costs Through Risk Reduction

Insurance isn’t a sunk cost. It’s a negotiation. The safer your company, the lower your premiums. And insurers don’t just take your word for it—they look at your tools, your logs, your processes.

Key Actions to Lower Premiums

1. Annual Penetration Testing – Find vulnerabilities before a hacker does. Show insurers you’re proactive.
2. Enforce MFA Everywhere – From email to AWS. One weak password shouldn’t compromise your entire stack.
3. Encrypt Data – Use AES-256 for stored data, TLS 1.2+ for anything in motion.
4. Test Backups Quarterly – A backup you can’t restore is worse than no backup.
5. Train Employees Regularly – Phishing is still the top threat. Turn your team into your first line of defense.

Example: Risk Assessment Scorecard

Conclusion: Embracing Rigor for a Secure Future

The 2025 Rosemont/Chicago Great American Coin Show wasn’t just about rare coins. It was a live demo of risk management done right. Every protocol, every check, every piece of documentation had a purpose: reduce uncertainty, protect value, build trust.

• Verify like a coin grader—sign your code, check your dependencies.
• Monitor like a dealer—watch for threats 24/7.
• Prepare like a pro—have a response plan, run drills, log everything.
• Insure like a pro—show insurers you’re a safe bet.

Technology moves fast. But risk moves faster. By borrowing the best practices from high-trust environments like coin shows, you’re not just building better software—you’re building a more insurable, more resilient company.

Attention to detail matters. Whether it’s a 1907 Saint-Gaudens double eagle or a production API endpoint. Start small. Sign one commit. Run one test. Document one process. The benefits—lower premiums, fewer breaches, more trust—add up fast.

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