Technological advancements have done a lot to support businesses by making tasks more streamlined and efficient. Online databases save time and ensure convenient access to important information, and financial transactions are easier than ever with digital banking technology. But with these improvements comes a new brand of vulnerabilities.
If your business falls victim to a cyber attack, are you prepared to deal with the aftermath? If all you have is general commercial liability insurance, then unfortunately, it will offer little to no protection against damage inflicted digitally.
Cyber attacks are as many and varied as the technologies we use, and their perpetrators can have any number of motives and aims. Many cyber attacks on businesses are driven by financial motives; an attacker will steal information necessary for identity theft (such as credit card and PIN numbers) or collect personal information that can then be sold to an interested third party. They could also drain financial resources straight from your business itself. Other cyber attacks can disrupt the functioning of your business by inserting viruses or other malware onto your system computers, while politically motivated attackers could seek out and make public sensitive, confidential information about clients or customers that your business holds.
Recognize Your Vulnerabilities
It is a common misconception that huge corporations are the sole victims of cyber attacks, but the reality is that a business of any size could become a target: in fact, more than 70 percent of cyber attacks occur at businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
As a responsible business owner, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk of becoming the victim of such an attack, but at the end of the day, the only way to plan for every eventuality is by selecting a cyber liability insurance plan that suits the needs of your business. Every employee with access to your databases, every transaction between your business and a supplier or consumer, and every communication carried out on your business’s operating system represents a potential entry point for a cyber attacker.
Know the Risks
As has been seen in the coverage of widely-publicized cyber attacks on major corporations, the fallout of such an event can be immense. Recent laws have shifted liability for security breaches increasingly from the banks to small businesses and franchises, so that you could be found fully responsible for a case of identity theft that originated with a card reader in your enterprise.
In addition to the immediate financial impact of such an attack, it is possible that your business may have to cease or severely limit its operations for a time, drastically decreasing revenue. Your reputation could suffer, and third parties who were affected by the theft of confidential information from your databases could initiate costly lawsuits against your business.
Whether your business is a mom-and-pop shop or a multinational corporation, whether you employ a dozen or thousands or people, no one is immune to a cyber attack. If you operate a business, then contact us to explore your options for cyber liability insurance.