In 2019 alone more than half of British firms reported a cyber attack (Hiscox / BBC News | April 2019). Whether you store sensitive customer data, or only update your website every once in a while to give your business a boost, it’s important to be mindful of the vulnerabilities inherent in using technology.
The ways in which an opportunistic cyber-criminal can target your business are now nearly endless. Even ‘accepting cookies’ presents potential security issues (despite GDPR helping to create more visibility around what data you’re sharing).
Compound this with the more complex threats (‘domain hijacking’, ‘denial of service attack’, to name a few) and the process of protecting your company from cyber threats becomes an ongoing, demanding task.
Unsure what to do? We understand.
Don’t panic - instead, get protected with cyber liability insurance. Cyber liability insurance is specifically designed to protect you against the risks that come with using modern technology; risks that other types of business insurance won’t cover.
To give you a better understanding of the benefits of cyber insurance, we have outlined six reasons cyber insurance is essential for your business, below. Read on to discover more.
1. Every organisation is an opportunity for a cyber criminal, especially SMEs
You’re probably aware when a major corporation experiences a security breach, due to the widespread media attention, but it’s not just big businesses that are targeted. In fact, SMEs present a lucrative opportunity for hackers, as they typically do not have robust cyber security in place.
In 2019, 43% of breaches involved small business victims (Verizon 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report).
2. Breaches cost more than just data
When you experience a breach it isn’t just data you’ll lose, but your reputation and your cash too.
Breach notification laws generally require businesses that lose sensitive data to provide written notification to any individuals affected (costing time and money). This will no doubt have an impact on reputation, with the trust of loyal customers in jeopardy.
Cyber insurance can help pay for a PR firm to restore lost trust, and help to mitigate the loss of future sales from customers switching to competitors.
3. Danger is widespread
Potential opportunities for cyber criminals are everywhere - it is no surprise that fraud and cyber crime are the most widespread crimes committed against people in England and Wales (2015 British Crime Survey). Therefore, a good cyber policy will cover you against everything from leaving a laptop on a train, to hacks while you're connected to a public WiFi spot, or phishing attacks via email.
4. Your staff can represent a vulnerability
Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, and communication technology is at the forefront of this expansion. Social platforms, along with other messaging services such as email, provide the perfect opportunity for criminals to create phishing scams.
Phishing scams, where a cyber criminal will attempt to obtain sensitive information under a disguise (i.e by acting as someone within the company), are always evolving and changing to be as convincing as possible.
Combine this with the high volume of messages exchanged on these platforms, and it only takes a momentary lapse in concentration for a busy employee to click on something they shouldn’t.
5. Cyber insurance provides better cover for your valuable data
Traditional insurance policies will not match the cover found in a cyber-specific policy. Consider property and contents policies, which will usually cover the equipment used to store data, but not the data itself.
With data often holding more value than tangible goods, it is increasingly important to insure both physical and virtual assets.
6. Downtime will be covered
Computer downtime can be expensive for businesses, especially those who rely heavily on IT systems. With a cyber insurance policy, cover will be provided when your systems fall offline.
Speak to one of our specialists to arrange your insurance cover. Call 0330 0948 740 or email enquiries@thecleargroup.com.
