Posted 28/10/2019
If you came into work and you were told someone hacked into your systems and accessed data including your customer records, would you know what to do next?
What would you do if you switched on your computer and there was no response except for a ransom demand? How would your business be affected?
Virtually all businesses rely on Information Technology (IT) to trade, more so now than ever before - Whether you’re a sole trader using your laptop to keep track of invoices, or a large organisation maintaining a large database of clients.
Unfortunately, criminals are also increasingly making the shift from the physical world to the virtual and targeting businesses of all sizes.
Cyber Criminals make money in surprisingly simple ways with the main proponent being Ransomware. Ransomware usually starts as a malicious email and often these emails are from a genuine contact but unknowingly sent by a Virus rather than the contact themselves. Unsuspecting users click on the email and their computer is instantly infected. Shortly afterwards their whole hard drive is encrypted rendering the computer unusable. Cyber Criminals will try to charge a ransom to unscramble your data.
The scale of the problem
You would be in the vast, but mistaken, majority if you think that Cyber criminals only target big business. Small businesses in the UK face over 9,000 Cyber-attacks every day and a recent survey of small UK businesses revealed one in five businesses report faced a Cyber Attack in the last two years.
A third of small firms say they have not installed security software over the past two years and almost half do not regularly update software, with a similar proportion admitting they do not back up their IT data.
How Cyber Insurance can help
The biggest benefit of Cyber Insurance for businesses, particularly in the event of a ransomware attack, is the ability to pick up the phone and immediately speak to an expert. Insurers will provide guidance to help get your business back up and running and minimise loss of data. They could even pay the ransom demands on your behalf to release your data if this is determined to be the best option.
Cyber Insurance can assist with Breach Costs – the cost of removing viruses and malware from business systems. Cyber Insurance also covers the cost of restoring data, programmes and security systems, IT forensics, breach notification to customers and crisis communications.
Media Liability provides protection should you mistakenly infringe someone’s copyright by using a picture online for example, or inadvertently libel a third-party in an email or other electronic communication. It also covers liability for transmitting virus, hacking or denial of service attack from your computer.
Arrange a Cyber quotation now
Using our specialist knowledge of the market, we can provide you a quote tailored to your specific needs, so pop in to one of our offices, email or call us on 01603 954 841.
Article by Mark Sayer, Cert CII
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