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Malware Insurance

The Cyber world, am I exposed?

With the reading week / winter break underway. There is nothing better than kicking your feet up and reading a blog about cyber coverage. Am I right? (I know I am). Well let’s begin.

What are the risks?

With business becoming more and more prevalent on the internet. We are exposing ourselves online, by giving personal information to the general public. Whether it is through social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), through emails or through website data collection. Businesses are needing to do most of their collection through online portals to compete with other online companies. Therefore, with this data, it is possible for hackers and other con-artist enthusiasts, to access your data and start on their process to leverage it against you.

Some malware through spam emails or other pop-up websites, lock down your computer and charge you a “ransom” for you to access your data again. This “ransomware” can cost a lot of money, and if that data is valuable, you may have to pay it to obtain it. There is very little you can do once this ransomware locks your computer. Talk to your IT guy to see what you can do to prevent this, otherwise, the data may be lost.

Other exposures are through the methods of identity theft and credit card fraud. There are so many ways people can do this, that it is almost impossible to prevent it. If you have any suspicions whatsoever, close your browser or email and go directly to the source to see if the “phishing expedition” is actually legit or not. Anytime people ask you to re-confirm your identification or your credit card, you should have your guard up. If you don’t filter through these types of requests, it can end up costing you a ton of money to recapture your identity and prove that you are who you say you are. This maybe sounds easy, but through people’s past experiences that we have seen firsthand, you are pretty much guilty until proven innocent and the process is grueling.

How can I protect myself?

These examples are a very small sample of what is possible online, and the methods people use to hack into your online world. We can’t prevent everything. As fast as we learn about it, someone is hacking a different way. However, we can protect ourselves from the loss that occurs when someone does attack you. Cyber coverage is available with almost every insurance company. Through your personal home, farm or business policies, you can purchase cyber coverage to protect your personal identity and data as well as the information stored by your commercial business. A data breach could strongly affect your business, by attacking the stored customer information on file. There are many implications to this, including: costs to reach out to your clients to inform them of the breach, the costs to recover the data or pay the ransom along with all the public relations costs that will occur, due to the breach. It is one thing when the data breach results in the loss of your information, it is a completely different ballgame when they steal customers information under your care and control.

What does this data and cyber coverage actually insure me for?

Every company has different variations of this coverage; these are the highlights:

  • Costs of recovering from the computer attack, such as: recovery of data, repair of systems, loss of business and public relations expense.
  • Protection in the event of a third party suit or claim from policyholders first party triggering event.
  • Forensic IT and legal consultation expenses
  • Expenses related to notifying affected individuals and regulatory authorities
  • Fraud alert and case management services to affected individuals
  • Costs to recover data and restore systems
  • Payments and assistance in responding to Cyber Extortion
  • Covers online fraud that results in direct financial loss

With this online world, there are so many opportunities to grow your business and stay globally connected. However, with that ability to connect with others, it gives online criminals the ability to take information out of your “back pocket” without you knowing. Give us a call if you want to learn more or have this coverage added to your policy. Make sure you are doing your part to protect yourself, your family and your customers.

How do we keep ourselves protected in an online world?

Do you ever log onto Facebook and the first thing you see is an advertisement for a pair of shoes you just were looking up the night before? Fellas? We all know you were eyeing up those new pumps (Christian Louboutin…?). Well the reason is, social media and many online companies are collecting data on everything you view. The data that from your device is then analyzed by companies like Google and then sent back to your device giving you information that is relevant to what you were just looking for. Google’s whole business model is to provide you with the most accurate information in the quickest amount of time.

This is insane! I mean, you don’t even have to type “Blingy 4 inch heels for wedding” into Google anymore without it already having advertisements for those shoes on your facebook timeline. The data and analytics that is being processed every second is astounding. So with that all being said, this is all very cool, but how do we keep ourselves protected from people who want to use that information against us online.

Many banking and online payment websites have added security measures to make sure it is indeed you logging into the website to make a payment or transfer. They also have guarantees that if you are hacked or someone accesses your account, that they will refund your money. So please contact your banking institution for their information on these types of scenarios.

For businesses who store data and privacy information on their computers at work, you need to make sure you are taking similar precautions. Having proper internet security software on your servers and computers is crucial. This software can be frustrating at times, as they can hold up day to day operations to keep added security in place. So talk to you IT analyst and make sure your software is going to be compatible with the security provider.

Next, you want to keep everything backed up, preferably off-site. What does this mean? You can do a few things. Some people manually backup their information onto a hard drive or USB flash drive daily and take it home with them. Others have IT departments that can backup information online in their database overnight. Either of these options are good as long as you’re able to restore your data in a quick and efficient manner if an attack or crash were to occur. You don’t want your business to be disrupted for too long. Having these measures in place beforehand will save you a huge headache in the future.

One more thing you can do, is purchase a cyber insurance policy. Many companies are offering added cyber security endorsements onto business policies to help protect people/businesses from these types of risks. These policies include coverages such as:

  • Coverage for cyber liability if your computers are hacked or a virus attacks your system causing personal or financial information to be leaked and someone brings action against you for the leaked information.
  • Payment of the costs to repair your systems if they are damaged and any losses of revenue you may suffer as a result of this damage
  • Coverage for data held ‘in the cloud’
  • Coverage for regulatory actions or investigations as a result of a privacy breach
  • Coverage for threats and extortion conducted online
  • Data Recovery Coverage

The internet is one the most amazing inventions of our generation. However, like anything we must treat it with respect and take precautions when working with it. Identity theft, viruses, hackings, malware emails all happen on a daily basis. We don’t want this to happen to you, so hopefully this information can help you prepare ahead of time for when these situations arise.