Why does your business need cyber insurance?

The WFH model makes businesses much more vulnerable and easy targets for cybercriminals. Some of the reasons include:

• A lot of people accessing their work data from home networks, which lacks high-level security
• The inability of businesses to monitor the work-related IT activities of their staff and,
• The use of personal devices by employees for work purposes

Businesses can overcome this challenge through a combination of tools and actions such as:

• Installing anti-malware software
• Putting in firewalls to safeguard their work network
• Having clear and effective IT policies in place when operations are remote
• Providing staff with laptops or desktops to use for work purposes during the WFH phase
• Training employees to identify cyber threats and steer clear of them
• Educating employees on password hygiene and cybersecurity best practices

However, these measures are no guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong! When you lose data accidentally or, when your data is compromised or held ransom, your first thought would be to get access to your data and get your business back on its feet. Yes, you will want to call in for a trusted IT services provider to put your business back on track quickly. But, it is not that simple. If you don’t have a service level agreement with an IT service provider, it may be difficult to find one instantly and also, challenging to find someone who you can trust with your situation. Even if you do find someone, chances are, they will charge you exorbitant rates by the hour.

Cyber insurance typically covers direct and indirect costs arising from cybersecurity incidents. One malicious attachment could bring the whole IT infrastructure crashing down. And, if there’s a data breach where confidential information has been compromised, then you’d be looking at hefty compensation payouts. That is why you need cyber insurance. Cyber insurance is not something new, but it has never been so important as it is now.

Aaron Burris

Aaron is a Partner and Principal Network Architect at Xterra Solutions, Inc. With over 20 years experience, Aaron’s practice areas include security,  networking, unified communications, and business continuity. Xterra is a leading managed services provider located in downtown San Francisco.