Cyber
Insurance
Lately there isn’t a day that goes by without hearing about a cyber-attack. This could be the 500 million Yahoo accounts being hacked, Sony emails being accessed or Lloyds customers not being able to access their accounts. Cyber criminals are not just targeting big corporate business they are just as likely to target small/medium sized business (SMEs) this is due to them having less security in place and making it easier for hackers.
There are ways to make sure that you are protected if you were hacked , such as backing up your data regularly to avoid paying ransom charges but do not leave the backup connected to your computer when you are finished as hackers can encrypt that too. Also be cynical when you receive emails as yourself; are they from a trusted source? Are you expecting it? If you are unsure do not open the attachment on the email to check call the person who sent it to confirm it was them. Use reliable internet security, conduct regular scans and always update your software this is because it is usually to patch up security weaknesses. Java and Adobe Flash are two of the main culprits for people not updating software and cyber criminals use this in order to hack your systems.
Despite potential risk that cyber attacks pose around 45% of SMEs still do not have a cyber breach response plan and only 7% of SMEs have cyber insurance according to industry research. According Juniper Research, who are market specialist, 27% of SMEs believe that they are too small to be of any interest to cyber attackers. Small business are more at risk as they have lower security levels and handle secure information such as booking systems, employee and customer data etc. In a small business it is important to make sure those managers and staff understand and recognise the dangers of cyber-criminal activity and educate those involved in cyber security and have a data breach plan in place.
A New Threat
The most common cyber crime affecting companies at the moment is “ransomware”. One way to know if your systems have being hacked is when you turn on your computer and a message appears saying “All your files have been encrypted”. This often means that your accounts, emails and any other data sensitive information being stored on your computer has been scrambled making it unreadable. To get your files back usually requires an unbreakable code only known by the hackers and they will only release this to you if you pay them which can range from £100-£500 per victim.
Hackers will need your permission to install software on to your computer and trick you into giving it, sometimes without you even knowing. An example of this is you receive an email with an Excel/Word/ZIP file attached made to look like an invoice, customer documents, quote request etc. If you then go on to open the attachment you have then just given your permission for the hackers to install malware on to your computer. The attachment will contain a program called a “macro” which are used in common business software like Excel which allow you automate repetitive tasks. However in this scenario they can also be used to download malicious software from the web.
The police policy is not to pay the ransom as every time a hacker is paid it builds their confidence in the profitability of the cyber-crime which will lead to the creation of more ransomware. On the other hand (though not everyone agrees) cyber security BitDefender found that 44% of UK business paid up rather than losing their important files, also an FBI agent told a conference last year that despite official advice it was better to pay.
Additional Information
Any business is at risk of:
- Being Hacked
- Infected with Ransom ware
- Data Breach – (loss in public, leaked internally etc.)
- Denial of Access
- Failure of Software and Systems
- Breach of Privacy
Companies who rely on information technology (IT) are more at risk; such as:
| Accountants | Law |
| Advertising/Marketing | Media |
| Construction/Manufacturing | Publishing |
| Consultancy | Recruitment |
| Education | Retail |
| Finance | Technology |
| Hospitality | Telecoms |
| Hotels | Transport |
Benefits of Cyber Insurance:
- Practical support in the event of a data breach (electronic or otherwise).
- Crisis Containment in the event of data breach, to help minimise the damage to a company’s reputation.
- Cyber Business Interruption provides compensation for loss of income, if a hacker targets your computer systems and prevents your business from earning revenue.
- Cyber Extortion will protect you if a hacker tries to hold your business to ransom.
- Hacker Damage reimbursement for the cost of repair, restoration or replacement if a hacker causes damage to your websites, programmes or electronic data.
- Multimedia Liability protection if you mistakenly infringe someone’s copyright such as picture online.
- Cyber Crime cover direct financial loss following an external hack into your company’s computer network.
- Telephone Hacking covers the costs of unauthorised telephones call by an external hacker following a breach of your computer network..
Facts and figures:
- Next year will see the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will see fines increased from a maximum of£500,000 to £20,000,000 for failures related to data protection, so now is the ideal time to safeguard your data.
- 90% of large businesses and 74%of small businesses had a security breach over the previous year, with the average breach costing small businesses £75k.
- Over 23,000 records are now exposed every time a UK business suffers a data breach.
- 68% of businesses say the most common types of breaches were from viruses, spyware or malware.
- 28% of SMEs in the UK say they would go out business if faced with an unexpected bill of 50K.
- 89% of small businesses that experienced a breach said it had a negative impact on their reputation.
- 51% Directors who report that they are very confident their company is properly secured against a cyber-attack.
- 146: median number of days an organization is compromised before discovering a cyber-breach.
- 15% Directors who say they are very satisfied with the quality of cyber security information the board receives from management.
- 53% Cyber attacks first identified by law enforcement or third parties, rather than organizations that have been attacked.
- £2 trillion projected annual costs of cyber crime by 2019.
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