Do we have cyber insurance?

As Covid has taken root in the country in the past two years, so has cyber crime, especially after people started working from home.?

Every organisation that manages or handles digital data is at risk of a cyber attack, and in the past few years we've seen a massive uptick in attacks and threats. But is cybersecurity insurance worth it? Here's what you need to know.

There are many misconceptions about cyber insurance and most businesses don’t think they need it, but this couldn't be farther from the truth.

Many companies learn too late - e.g. AFTER an attack or breach - that their existing insurance policy doesn’t cover damage from ransomware, viruses, or any kind of malicious digital activity.

This can cost an unprepared organisation hundreds of millions of dollars, and eventually cause them to close their doors forever.

Simply put, cyber insurance is a coverage policy for your business’ liability in the event of a data breach involving customer information.

If your organisation falls victim to a cyber attack, cyber insurance will cover you in the way car insurance covers you when your vehicle is in an accident.

We’ve reached a point where we all work with data so much that we need protection from the financial devastation caused by data loss or breach.

Cyber insurance comes in many different forms of coverage, and to understand what’s best for you and your organisation, you’ll need to work with an insurance agent.

Cyber insurance typically covers items such as:

• Legal fees
• Cost of recovering data
• Cost of restoring the identities of affected clients
• Cost of notifying customers of the breach/data loss

Surviving a data breach will be costly, and without cyber insurance, many small businesses will not be able to continue after an event occurs.

Hackers have gotten increasingly clever, and it's getting harder and harder for employees to identify phishing emails. One click on a misunderstood malicious email can unleash viruses that compromise data on your network and can bring your company to its knees for days.

Let's take a look at exactly who is most at risk!

Who Needs Cyber Insurance?

Every business relies on digital data. Which is everyone.

If you have client data saved anywhere on your network or cloud, you should have cyber insurance.

We often think that only very large businesses, or industries such as finance, legal and healthcare are more at risk, but EVERYONE is at risk.

But what about small to medium-sized businesses?

Over 60% of small businesses close within 6 months of a cyberattack.

For most, the financial burden of a cyber incident is just too great to recover from. This is especially disheartening when you realise that SMBs are targeted specifically because they can’t afford the protection of larger entities.

Of course, your goal is to minimise the possibility that you get attacked in the first place! This means your business needs to take security steps in advance to reduce your risk.

As mentioned above, phishing is the #1 way hackers get into your network to launch ransomware attacks., so it pays to invest in employee training!

So when are you going to invest in employee training?