As cyber threats climb in number and begin to affect large and small businesses across all industries, have you started to rethink your security and back-up strategies? If not, it might be time to do so. Small businesses are targeted by 55% of cyber attacks, so if you’re thinking it couldn’t happen to you, think again. Even with security patching, monitoring, and secure passwords, there is still a chance your small business could fall victim to one of these attacks. If your attempts to keep hackers at bay fails, do you have a plan in place for what happens next?
Many small businesses do have continuity plans in place so they are prepared if their data is lost or stolen. But some feel that’s not quite enough. Cyber liability insurance is a way to secure your financial future in case an attack leaves your business unable to operate for too long of a stretch.
Cyber insurance covers your business’ liability for a data breach involving sensitive customer information. This information is not covered under your insurance’s general liability policy which often covers bodily injuries and property damage.
What costs will Cyber Liability Insurance cover?
Different policies will cover different things. As with any insurance policy, there is no catch-all plan that will ensure you’re going to get a pay out no matter what type of incident occurs or how it was caused. Some policies cover third-party and first-party incidents, some cover worldwide incidents, or there are distinct insuring agreements where you cherry pick what is covered if you know you need something specific.
Many basic policies geared toward small businesses cover the following:
- Legal fees and expenses associated with cleaning up a data breach
- Notifying customers about the data breach
- Restoring personal identities of affected customers
- Setting up a call center for affected customers
- Recovering compromised data
- Repairing damaged computer systems
As you can see from the coverage list, a data breach could cost you a lot out of pocket without cyber liability insurance. For those companies obligated to protect personal health information and personal identifying information, there can also be fees associated with a data breach. Failing to protect that information can result in fines on top of the above expenses.
Having cyber insurance can help you manage the costs if you fall victim to a cyber attach and such a policy can certainly set your mind at ease knowing you’re covered, but there is one important thing cyber liability insurance doesn’t cover. Human error.
Human Error and Security
There is no way to completely eliminate human error, or to fool proof our systems to make sure human error can’t interfere with security measures. At least, not yet. Human error accounts for 24% of security breaches. If you include those who have been phished or installed malware, that number more than doubles.
In order to better guard your small business against human error, you can put your employees through security training. This type of training will teach your employees to look for the common red flags in emails and online. They will learn about they types of threats out there, when not to click on a link, how to spot a phishing email, what sites could be dangerous, and more. Going through some form of security training is also proven to make employees more vigilant. It opens their eyes to the possibilities and they are more cautious online.
Having it all
Cyber liability insurance can be an important piece of your cyber security plan, but it cannot and should not stand alone. Make sure your employees know how to stay safe online and have a plan of action in case the worst were to happen. If you couple all of that with preventative care and security monitoring, you should be able to sleep well at night knowing you’re really covered.
