26 Oct Not If, But, When A Cyber Loss Occurs.
With the number of ransomware and data-breach cases increasing daily, it’s more important than ever to invest in cyber security, train employees on security awareness and purchase cyber insurance to reduce your company’s overall risk of loss.
A cyber loss is much like jury duty, it is not an “if” but a “when.”
There are three main ways for you and your clients to protect themselves and minimize the exposure to a cyber loss:
- Cyber Security — The first step in protecting your company from cyber loss is understanding the risks both internally and externally. Your IT provider should be a cyber security expert and your main partner in identifying threats. Basic steps that all companies should be taking include, but are not limited to: keeping software patches updated, using strong passwords and updating them every 90 -120 days, maintaining strong endpoint security for devices accessing your systems remotely, and finally, encrypting all sensitive data.
- Security Awareness — Every business needs to build and invest in a “human firewall.” It is estimated that 95 percent of all security incidents involve human error. Businesses must educate employees on how to identify and avoid phishing attacks and other forms of social engineering.
- When in doubt about the validity of an email, best practice is to call the sender (if they are known) to verify. When in doubt, throw it out!
- At Lane & Associates, we use KnowB4 (KnowB4.com) for our own security awareness training.
- Cyber Insurance — Every business that has customer records should have a cyber-insurance policy in place to help transfer the cost of a cyber loss to an insurer. Cyber policies, in addition to providing first- and third-party coverage, should contain links to educational information on how the insured can protect themselves and specific contact details to engage professional breach response services.
At Lane & Associates, we have several markets that offer comprehensive and affordable cyber insurance. Contact us today to see how we can help to protect your clients from the inevitable cyber threats and potential cyber loss.