Risk & Business Magazine Cal LeGrow Fall 2015 | Page 26

Cyber Crime

A Big Cost to Small Business
BY: BILL DALTON, CAIB CIP CRM, VICE-PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL, CAL LEGROW

The second category, and the one we
are dealing with in the insurance
industry, is where technology
is the target. Databases
containing personal
and financial data of
thousands or millions
of clients are being
compromised
and used for
financial gain.

F

rom the Heartbleed Bug to Canada
Revenue’s stolen social insurance
numbers, this recurring headline makes
the news on a regular basis. These
data breaches affect national retailers,
government agencies, healthcare
providers and global manufacturers.
Commercially sensitive data has been
compromised by someone… somewhere.
A North American study conducted
in 2014 shows that the average claim
as a result of a cyber loss is over
$700,000. More surprising, this study
also found that smaller companies
were breached more often than
larger companies. Two-thirds of all
businesses will experience some type
of cyber loss or breach of data attack.

Q: What exactly is cyber crime?
A: Cyber crime is a broad term. It
could likely be categorized into two
distinct areas. Firstly, the use of
technology as the weapon;
this would include such
things as cyber bullying,
illegal distribution of
pornography, the drug
trade, etc. Basically,
cyber crime is
any criminal act
where the use of
a computer or
smartphone
is the
vehicle.

Risk & Business Magazine recently
sat down with Jeff LeGrow, Marg
Ryan and Bill Dalton of Cal LeGrow’s
Commercial Management Team to
discuss how cyber breaches can affect
small business and what small business
owners can do to protect themselves
from an ever-increasing category of risk.

26

RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM FALL 2015