Waypoint Insurance - Risk & Business Magazine Waypoint Risk & Business Magazine 2018 | Page 26
THE
INDEPENDENT
CYBER
LIABILITY CONTRACTOR
Why Even Small Businesses
Need Cyber Liability
Protection
D
o you think your business
is so small that it is safe
from cyber-attacks? No
matter how small your
business, if you have a
computer and a customer list, you are
vulnerable to being hacked. Most hackers
in this day and age realize that larger
organizations are taking every means
possible to protect themselves and
their customer data with sophisticated
software tools and resident IT experts.
So hackers have set their sights on
smaller, more vulnerable organizations.
A 2017 survey by Manta revealed that 87
percent of small-business owners do not
believe they are at risk for a cyber-attack.
Most of these businesses don’t have
any dedicated information technology
personnel, and many don’t have even
simple means of protection in place, such
as anti-virus software, firewalls, spam
filters, or data-encryption technology.
Yet the problem is far from hypothetical.
Research by the National CyberSecurity
Alliance shows that at least half of
all cyber-attacks now target small
businesses, defined as those with
fewer than 250 employees. Even more
alarming, multiple reports show that
half of all small businesses have already
been breached—often without even
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the knowledge of company leadership.
Sadly, about 60 percent of small
businesses affected by these attacks
are so damaged that they end up going
out of business within six months.
Personally Identifiable Information
(PII), including names, addresses,
driver’s licence numbers, and credit
card numbers are all at risk as well as
Protected Health Information (PHI),
such as medical records. Once an
individual’s PII is stolen, it can take years
and countless hours of frustration to
restore the individual’s good name. A
good information technology consultant
can help you take simple steps to
protect your data from these crimes.
A cyber liability insurance policy can
help protect your business financially in
the event of an attack. Policies can differ
widely and there are no set minimum
criteria, so you’ll have to work closely
with your agent to find the policy that’s
best for your organization. Here are
some basic coverage areas to consider:
• Third-party damage covering
violations committed by a
subcontractor you hire, such as a
mail house or fulfillment centre
• Business interruption, in the event
that damage to your computer
systems leaves your company unable
to function for some period of time
• Credit monitoring services, allowing
customers suffering data exposure to
periodically check their credit status
• Disaster recovery costs, which
may include expenses for forensic
accountants, attorneys, and advisors
• Crisis management, to help
contain any bad publicity
stemming from the breach
• Social engineering fraud, which
can result when hackers trick
trusted employees or vendors into
disclosing sensitive information
• Extortion, which includes
threats by foreign entities that
can only be satisfied through
large cash payments
Since cyber liability is a fairly new area
of insurance and is changing every year,
be sure you work with a broker that is
sufficiently knowledgeable about this
complex field. For more information or to
discuss your specific needs, please contact
Waypoint Insurance at 310-8442 or visit
us online at waypointinsurance.ca +