A Cyber Attack Won’t Happen To My Business
We’ve heard it many times, “A cyber attack won’t happen to my business,” thinking that your business is too small, it couldn’t be a target for cyber crime. Fact is, you are exactly who they are looking for. Small businesses are just as likely to get hacked as large businesses, you just don’t hear about it in the news.
The cyber security community has largely concurred that cyber crime damages will cost the world a predicted 6 trillion dollars annually by 2021. That is doubled from 2016 stats. It is also predicted that a business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds in 2019.
Could Your Small Business Recover From an Abrupt Loss of $256,000?
Because that’s how much a single cyber security hack could cost a small business, according to a recent analysis in Tech Republic. In 2017 data breaches cost companies an average of $225 per compromised record.
You can protect your business in a number of ways. Download our extensive Cyber Security Planning Guide to protect your business from cyber threats. We also offer comprehensive Cyber Liability Insurance, this will help with the large cost of a cyber breach or malware attack.
We fall victim to our own thoughts: if we don’t hear about it happening, we assume it isn’t. That’s dangerous thinking for a small business. While large corporations can bounce back from cyber attacks, it’s much more difficult for small businesses to recover.
According to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 58% of cyber attack victims were small businesses (organizations with fewer than 250 employees).
Cyber Attacks Are Always Evolving
It’s never been easier to make your own ransomware. There were 4.3 times more ransomware variants in Q1 2017 than in Q1 2016. Remote desktop is the new “in”, 2/3 of ransomware infections were delivered via Remote Desktop Protocol. Another reason why believing a cyber attack won’t happen to my business is simply not realistic.
Example of Cyber Extortion
A company reported the notice of a ransomware attack. The attack was on the company’s servers AND it’s backup servers, which made restoration difficult. The ransomware was a variant of the Mamba strain, which encrypts the entire hard drive, rather than encrypting individual files like most ransomware variants. Because restoration from backsups was not a viable option, it was determined that paying the ransom (20 Bitcoin)would be the quickest way to address the situation. The firm worked with a bitcoin broker to secure the necessary funds and coordinated the exchange with the attacker.
There was no evidence that information had been stolen from the company’s systems before, during or after the attack and therefore, no legal notification obligations were triggered by this incident. Total payout including privacy counsel, forensics and the ransom payment was approximately $300,000.
Don’t Let Your Business Become A Victim of a Cyber Attack
It’s easy to think that a cyber attack won’t happen to my business, but in reality it’s more likely that your business is exactly what cyber criminals are looking for.
The risk of Cyber attack is real! Your GL insurance policy does not cover Cyber breach. If your business relies on computers/network, computerized equipment/machinery; if you take personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, address, credit and debit cards, social security numbers, financial or medical records, driving licenses, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, biometric information (fingerprint), you need Cyber Liability Insurance coverage.
Cyber Liability Insurance Coverage
A Cyber Liability Insurance Policy can cover:
- Data Breach response
- Ransom payment
- Social Engineering, eCrime
- Business Interruption/income loss due to Cyber attack
- Costs to notify affected individuals of data breach
- Data Recovery costs
- Data & Network Liability
- Regulatory Defense & Penalties
- Payment Card Liability
- Forensic and legal costs
- Public relations and crisis management
- Consequential reputational harm
- Education and Loss Prevention Tools
California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management
As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.
We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive cyber liability insurance quote!
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