Cyberattacks have cost industries millions. The insurance world took notice and so did business owners. Getting coverage is a complicated process and risks of getting taken down in a cyber attack are staggering. Action needs to be taken now by getting a cyber attack policy.
Attacks began ramping up during the pandemic. More employees working from home meant an influx of vulnerabilities. This is apparent, for example, from the fact that 47% of individuals fall for a phishing scam while working at home. Cyber criminals had a much easier time accessing data, resulting in financial punches and wrecked reputations.
Companies had to invest in cutting-edge technology when reevaluating their cybersecurity strategies for remote employees. Cyber insurance policies have seen quite the increase lately, up from 26% in 2016 to 47% in 2020.
Cyber attacks on small businesses
Small businesses are particularly at risk from cyber attacks. More than 43% of cyber attacks are against small businesses, which means every 14 seconds, a small business is attacked. In a scary turn, 60% of small businesses shutter within six months of a cyber attack. The average cost of a cyber attack is $200,000 and only 17% of small businesses are prepared to deal with a cyber attack.
Cyber attack insurance cannot take the place of a good security plan, but it can help you recover from:
Ransomware
Escalating more and more each day, the malware encrypts data and sets a very high ransome for its return. These types of attacks increased by 250% in 2021, with the average ransom being $84,000. The most targeted industry for ransomware? The healthcare sector.
Phishing emails
An email with a shockingly good subject line that is too good to be true is most likely a phishing scam. Unsuspecting team members usually click on malicious links or willingly give out their personal information. A whopping 91% of cyber attacks begin with a phishing email, with a 30% open rate. About 12% of those who clicked install malware on their computer/device.
Social engineering attacks
Social engineering is a type of cyber attack that uses psychological manipulation to trick victims into providing personal information or clicking on malicious links. This type of attack is on the rise, and businesses need to be aware of the risks. Up to 60% of businesses have had a social engineering attack, costing $158,000 on average when the attempt is successful. The most targeted industry for social engineering attacks is healthcare.
Embedded malware
A growing problem is malicious code that is embedded in devices as the internet of things (IoT) grows, including printers or routers. Up to 48% of IoT devices are infected with malware and an IoT attack can cost $52,000.
IoT attacks
Devices connected to the IoT are being severely impacted by cyber attacks. This technology has changed businesses on every continent and every industry. More and more companies are integrating IoT devices into their infrastructures. This expands the ecosystem and creates more potential gateways cyber criminals can infiltrate. From January to June 2021, there were more than 1.5 billion IoT breaches. Cyber criminals tapped into the telnet remote access protocol during the pandemic.
The current size of the IoT security market is 18.6 billion. Connected devices need in-depth protection, especially as some employees are now permanently remote. Almost 58% of IoT cyber attacks happened with the intent of mining cryptocurrency.
Team members may feel like cyber criminals are not interested in their work activities. However, they are the most targeted because of their visibility. Cyber criminals love when team members work from home and have relaxed security standards. Some may even use a “secure” Wi-Fi connection rather than ethernet.
Cyber insurance policies
Cyber insurance policies vary by the underwriters. In general, they cover data breaches, cyber extortion, denial of service attacks and business interruption.
With so many cyber risks, cyber insurance can provide coverage for damages and losses. Policies can also provide access to legal assistance and incident response services. Do a bit of reading to understand coverage options and exclusions, since not every policy will fit your needs.
Network security covers information risk and privacy risk. If there is a network security failure, including data breach, malware infection, cyber extortion demand, ransomware, or business email compromise, you may be targeted again.
Policies could cover:
- Legal expenses
- IT forensics
- Negotiation and payment of a ransomware demand
- Data restoration
- Breach notification to consumers
- Setting up a call center
- Public relations expertise
- Credit monitoring and identity restoration
Cyber insurance covers the losses an enterprise may suffer as a result of a cyberattack. Companies are now seeing cyber attacks as being on par with natural disasters. These man-made disasters can wreak havoc via lost customers, destroyed reputations and negotiations with cyber criminals.
The damage of a cyber attack can include the loss or theft of third-party data. Cyber criminals can expose user data and cut customers off from accessing products or services.
In the event of a cyber attack, customers have to be notified of data breaches. Insurance most often helps with the cost of this process. Recovering data and repairing damaged systems can also be costly. Cyber criminals may demand a fee to unlock or retrieve compromised data. There are also remediation fees for violating privacy policies or regulations. Companies can even hire security or computer forensic experts to remediate an attack and recover compromised data.
Insurers will most likely conduct a security audit. Policies exclude poor security processes, prior breaches, human errors, insider attacks and pre-existing vulnerabilities.
After investing in cyber security bootcamps powered by ThriveDX, graduates are ready to work in the corporate, agency and freelance worlds. They can also work with insurers who usually offer impeccable benefits. The world is now understanding the dire need for cybersecurity, so consider upskilling your workforce with ThriveDX.
