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 aren’t only targeting large corporations; small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are equally vulnerable due to their limited security measures.
There are ways to make sure that you are protected even if you were hacked. You should back up your data regularly. This may help avoid paying ransom charges in the event of a Ransomware attack. Be sure you do not leave the backup connected to your computer when you are finished as hackers can encrypt that too.
Exercise caution with emails – verify if they are from a trusted source, especially if unexpected. If in doubt, avoid opening email attachments; instead, confirm with the sender by phone.
Ensure reliable internet security, conduct regular scans, and consistently update your software to patch security weaknesses. Cyber criminals often exploit unpatched software vulnerabilities, with Java and Adobe Flash being common targets for system breaches.
Statistics
Despite potential risk that cyber attacks pose, around 45% of SMEs still do not have a cyber breach response plan. Additionally, only 7% of SMEs have cyber insurance according to industry research. Market specialist Juniper Research report that 27% of SMEs believe that they are too small to be of any interest to cyber attackers. To the contrary, small business are often more at risk as they have lower security levels despite handling valuable information such as booking systems, employee and customer data. In a small business it is important to make sure that managers and staff understand and recognise the dangers of cyber-criminal activity. Educate all employees in the basics of cyber security and ensure you have a data breach plan in place.
Ransomware
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 Ransomware
- 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:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) breaches can result in fines up to £20,000,000 for failures related to data protection.
- 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.
Disclaimer
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT NOT ALL MENTIONED COVER, FEATURES AND BENEFITS ARE PROVIDED AS STANDARD; SOME MAY BE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL PREMIUM, OR SUBJECT TO UNDERWRITERS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU REQUIRE ANY SPECIFIC COVER, FEATURE OR BENEFIT ON YOUR POLICY, PLEASE ADVISE DURING QUOTING AND ENSURE THAT THE COVER IS INCLUDED PRIOR TO ACCEPTING THE INSURANCE CONTRACT. CONNECT INSURANCE BROKERS LTD ACCEPT NO LIABILITY SHOULD YOU REQUIRE A FEATURE OF COVER DURING THE POLICY DURATION THAT HAS BEEN OMITTED AS A RESULT OF YOUR FAILURE TO SPECIFY IT’S NECESSITY PRIOR TO INCEPTION. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT CONNECT INSURANCE LTD CANNOT GUARANTEE THE SOLVENCY OF ANY INSURER WE USE.