Cyber attacks have drastically increased within the past several months and it comes
at no surprise since working from home has become our new normal. With the additional
risks that this brings, it is important for your organization to be ready and protected against
the possible risks. Exposures are vast, ranging from the content you put on your website to
stored customer data. Awareness of the potential cyber liabilities your company faces is
essential to managing risk through proper coverage. Possible exposures covered by a typical
cyber liability policy are not limited to these, but may include the following:
- Data Breaches: Increased government regulations have placed more responsibility on
companies to protect clients’ personal information. In the event of a breach, notification
of the affected parties is now required by law. This will add to costs that will also include
security fixes, identity theft protection for the affected and protection from possible legal
action. While companies operating online are at a heightened risk, even companies that don’t
transmit personal data over the internet, but still store it in electronic form, could be susceptible
to breaches through data lost to unauthorized employee access or hardware theft.
- Damages to a third-party system: If an email sent from your server has a virus that crashes
the system of a customer, or the software your company distributes fails, resulting in a loss for a third
party, you could be held liable for the damages.
- Cyber extortion: Hackers can hijack websites, networks and stored data, denying access to you
or your customers. They often demand money to restore your systems to working order. This can cause a
temporary loss of revenue plus generate costs associated with paying the hacker’s demands or rebuilding
if damage is done.
To learn more about how you can protect yourself click here.