Cyber Security Insurance

Protecting Your Business in the Digital Age

While our businesses and organizations are receiving major benefits from their online presence, there is also risk involved with our virtual real estate and online management systems. Cyber threats are becoming increasingly prominent for business owners, large and small, and pose a major risk to an organization’s livelihood. Cyber criminals’ skills are advancing daily, and their sophisticated operation leaves no organization immune.

What is cyber security insurance?

Cybersecurity insurance protects an organization from the financial risks involved in cyber-attacks. A cyber-attack can be anything from data breaches to ransomware attacks to any other type of cybercrime. By transferring some of the financial burden to an insurance company, businesses and organizations are more equipped to handle the aftermath of an attack.

The FBI reported over 800,000 cyber-attacks in 2022. Any company can be compromised by a cyber-attack and risk losing parts of their business that are housed online. Aside from the immediate loss of the attack, an added risk is the class action lawsuit that could come afterward for not responding in the appropriate manner.

Areas of Cyber Risk Exposure:

Cyberattacks: Cyberattacks can include phishing, ransomware, and malware. Cybercriminals most commonly use these methods to attack organizations.

Deepfakes: Deepfakes are videos, pictures, or recordings used to misrepresent a person’s words or actions. Cybercriminals can use a deepfake to access company data, make changes, or create new content.

M&A Activity: Cybercriminals look for potential mergers and acquisitions and view them as an opportunity to attack a company. With the amount of data transfers occurring, there is a lot of vulnerability and risk. There is a heightened risk of ransomware attacks, phishing, and other acts to access sensitive information.

Supply Chain Attacks: An attack on a supply chain disrupts the physical flow of assets and processes. These attacks are possible through altering the software or attacking IT and operational technologies.

Everyday Activities: Seemingly simple, everyday tasks can lead to potential cyber-attacks. Sent files, opened email attachments, or lost laptops can put your company at risk of a cyber-attack and compromised data.

How can we prevent this?

It is crucial to be prepared for a cybersecurity breach in your company. This can be done by training your employees on safe practices and increasing security measures. Understanding the threats out there and how to protect your sensitive data can save your company from being at risk of an attack. Cyber-attacks are an ever-changing occurrence, with new forms of attacks becoming available. With this, it is important to have threat detection software and services and act quickly, legal assistance should be acquired as soon as possible.

How to cover yourself with a cybersecurity insurance policy.

With the growing threat of cyber-attacks, a cyber security insurance policy in force could save your company from major financial liability associated with the crime. Ransom costs, legal fees, and potential class action lawsuits could be a major setback to your company. Being prepared with the proper insurance policy could ease the financial loss of the cyber security breach and help your company recover.

To add a cybersecurity insurance policy to your coverages, your business will have to do some preparation. Because of the high cyber security liability, insurance carriers are looking to help you prevent the crime from happening and are there to help if it does.

Carriers are looking for strong access controls implemented into the company that stop cyber-attacks before they start. A regular vulnerability assessment should be conducted to determine areas of weakness in the current security system, offering a plan to correct any potentially vulnerable areas. An incident response plan should be in force in every company, a step of preparedness for when a cyber-attack strikes. Knowing what steps to take in this scenario is crucial for a quick response and remaining in line with steps taken by legal authorities. With the incident response plan in mind, employee training should also be a priority for businesses, providing guidance and resources that will assist employees in safe practices, knowing what signs to look for, and how to respond. Finally, multi-factor authentication is a great way to add an extra layer of security over your data access by employees, requiring a double check on who is accessing sensitive information. These safe practices will help protect your business from potential cyber-attacks as well as incentivize carriers to help protect your business because of their strong trust in your safety.