As Christmas approaches, both businesses and individuals rely heavily on digital technologies to maximise their financial returns and buy presents for loved ones. As a result, cyberattacks are recognised as one of the most significant challenges facing organisations and individuals alike at this time of year. To mitigate the impact of cyberattacks, make sure you have a cyber insurance policy in place to protect you against financial losses and liabilities caused by cybersecurity incidents in the run-up to Christmas.
Potential impacts of cyberattacks
Cyberattacks can have a wide range of potentially catastrophic effects on businesses of all sizes. Not only can they cause huge financial issues, but they can also cause other problems such as data breaches and reputation damage. Data breaches can result in identity theft, fraud, and violations of privacy, all of which can have serious implications for a company's reputation.
Ransomware attacks prevent a company from accessing its own systems unless a ransom is paid. This can cause serious issues both financially and operationally, as it costs a lot of time and money to fix an attack of this nature.
Types of cybersecurity coverage
There are two types of cybersecurity coverage: first-party and third-party. First-party coverage is a common data breach policy that often covers the initial costs associated with investigating cyber events and completing risk assessments in order to mitigate the impact of any future breaches. It also covers income loss due to company disruption and ransomware attack compensation, subject to policy limits.
Third-party coverage is a policy that covers the costs of being sued for any damage caused by a cyberattack on a company. It typically covers the costs of court fees related to legal processes, settlements, and financial penalties.
Cybersecurity defences
Because most cyber insurance policies demand particular security measures, it is crucial to ensure that you have suitable defences in place. The measures that are required often vary between different policies and insurance providers. There are, however, certain defences that almost all policyholders must have.
One of the defences commonly required is a firewall, which tracks and regulates network traffic to guard against unauthorised access. Typically, antivirus software is also needed to identify and get rid of viruses and malware on computer networks. The more security your network has, the more likely you are to be accepted by an insurance provider, so it is a good idea to make sure your systems use multi-factor authentication and data encryption to make sure you are covered.
Individual cyber insurance
Personal cyber insurance is not just for businesses; individuals can benefit from it too. This is especially true in the festive period, when many people use the internet to shop for gifts for their friends and family. This time of year is a prime target for hackers who aim to steal personal information from online shoppers. They use a wide range of different tactics to do this, such as phishing emails, fake websites, and malicious adverts. If an offer or discount appears too good to be true, it probably is.
Cyber insurance protects you from a wide range of online threats, such as computer viruses, data breaches, and fraud. Costs incurred from identity theft and credit card fraud are typically covered within your policy limits, as long as they cannot be reimbursed by your bank. However, your insurance provider may not pay out if you have insecure passwords, your cybersecurity standards are not adequate, or if you have not included the relevant add-ons to your policy, such as ransomware protection.
Contact us today for more information on cyber insurance policies