A business of any size may be vulnerable to a data breach. Cyber attacks have become a frightening reality for individuals and organizations in recent years.
Business owners should do all they can to secure their websites and customer information. If your business stores passwords, credit card numbers, or any form of sensitive client or customer information, be aware that hackers have you in their sights.
Taking certain key steps can help protect your business from hackers. Having the right cyber liability insurance can help protect your company from losses if a data breach occurs despite your best efforts. Our agency can assess your risk for a cyber attack and help you obtain the cyber liability insurance coverage you need to protect against a costly breach of your system.
Get the Right Technologies in Place
Make sure you have an advanced firewall system to protect your business network. Update patches on your software regularly. Require strong passwords to access sensitive or confidential information. Implement cyber-protection software that hunts out malware and viruses in all digital systems in use in your company.
Store Only the Customer Data You Need
Make it company policy to purge sensitive customer information from your system once the data is no longer needed for the business at hand. It is not a good practice to keep credit card numbers and other confidential information to have them on file. The risk of a data breach far outweighs the convenience to your customers.
Train Your Employees to Guard Against Cyber Attacks
A large percentage of data breaches occur when employees click on malicious links they receive via email or unintentionally and unknowingly supply sensitive information to hackers disguised as reputable persons seeking information. Train your employees on how to spot and avoid breaches. Ensure that employees use secure networks and strong password protection when they are working remotely or using smartphones, laptops, or other personal devices for work.
Encrypt Your Data
Hackers are searching for sensitive information companies have left unprotected. To safeguard your business against cyber threat, take steps to ensure that important data your company holds is encrypted. Full-disk encryption tools that come standard with most operating systems can encrypt all your files without slowing your system down.
The Importance of Cyber Liability Insurance to Protect Your Business
If your business uses any digital device, it is at risk for cyber attack. If a data breach occurs, most cyber liability insurance policies provide first-party coverage for a range of losses, including costs associated with:
- Business interruption
- Extortion
- Notifying customers of a breach
- Hiring a public relations firm to repair damage to company image
In addition, cyber liability insurance policies with third-party coverage will pay for penalties, fines, and defense expenses for network and information security, based upon policy limits and the coverage you have in place.
Even if you hire an outside vendor to host your data, your business is still responsible for breaches. General liability insurance does not cover data breaches.
The cost of cyber liability insurance will depend on several underwriting factors, including the type of business, the number of transactions per year, the type of information you collect, the type of security you have implemented, and the number of computers and digital devices in use. Our knowledgeable agency can help you find the best available rates for the cyber liability insurance policy your business needs.
