Hardly a day goes by now when mainstream media isn’t reporting on a major cyber breach impacting on business somewhere in the world. And losing customers’ private information is most business owners’ worst nightmare. Get your business cyber insurance before its too late!
If your business hasn’t been affected, then you’re amongst the lucky ones. More than 20% of Australian businesses are thought to have suffered a cyber breach since 2012 and experts believe it’s more of a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’. If unscrupulous individuals are determined to gain access to your business’s private and sensitive information it’s becoming more difficult to lock them out.
Cyber criminals target businesses in a wide variety of ways, including theft of financial information and records; cyber extortion; and e-vandalism through malware and viruses.
Security breaches and privacy losses can be costly affairs for businesses, too. According to stats, the average cost of a data breach to an Australian organisation in 2013 was US$4.1m. And the risk of cyber crime is fast increasing, as cyber criminals become more sophisticated. Businesses of all sizes can be targets, from multi-nationals to SMEs, so don’t make the mistake of thinking it won’t happen to you.
So while avoiding cyber breaches can be outside a business owners’ control, there are steps you can take to initially minimise your risks, and to remedy the damage if a breach or privacy loss occurs:
- Ensure you have a formal, regularly updated policy outlining your company’s approach to data security – and make sure that all staff are well versed on this through staff training.
- Adopt best practice security measures with regard to intruder detection systems; software monitoring; passwords; encryption and firewalls – and make sure all parts of this are tested regularly and kept updated.
- Develop a data breach incident response plan (IRP), and appoint key duties to specified members of staff to help you recover swiftly from any breaches. A company-wide plan is required.
- Have robust cyber insurance policies in place to mitigate losses in the event of a cyber breach.
How cyber-insurance protects your business
Businesses may be under the impression that their existing business insurance policies are adequate to cover them for cyber breaches. This may not be the case.
You should be looking for your cyber insurance policy to cover you for:
- Direct loss, consequential loss and legal liability resulting from cyber security breaches and loss of client information;
- Reputational damage;
- Damage to third-party systems as a result of first-party security breaches;
- Crisis management costs, including public relations consultants;
- Cyber extortion ransom cover, plus professional negotiator costs.
At Emjay Insurance Brokers, we have a deep understanding of the cyber risks your business faces, as well as access to the leading cyber insurance policies on the market. If you need guidance on minimising the impact of cyber crime on your business, contact us today on 02 9796 0400.
