5 Cyber Attack Risk Factors Every Business Must Resolve

Posted on: October 20, 2017 by Signature Insurance Group

While nearly every business will benefit from cyber liability insurance, there are some risk factors that make certain companies especially vulnerable. With cyber crime costing the global economy $450 billion per year across every industry and company size, no business is safe.

If your company has any of the following 5 risk factors, your chance of attack is even higher, necessitating careful consideration of a cyber liability insurance policy.

1. Outdated Anti-Virus Software

Yes, those desktop pop-ups can be annoying, but your anti-virus reminders need to be taken seriously. Updates are pushed out frequently to ensure you have protection against ever-changing malware, including viruses, adware, spyware, worms, trojans, and even ransomware. The easiest way to reduce the risk is to set each computer associated with your business to automatically update overnight or between non-work hours.

2. Non-Existent or Under-Staffed IT

Many small companies don’t have full-time IT members. Instead, they may contract with on-call IT help or hire different technicians every time they encounter a problem. Other companies may have a small, overworked IT team. Both of these scenarios leave you at greater risk for cyber attacks. If you cannot expand this department, the best solution is to obtain cyber liability insurance to help mitigate any damages you may suffer.

3. Cloud Usage

Any time you use “The Cloud” to store or transmit information—even by running credit cards through a POS system—you’re putting your business at risk. Cloud computing is touted by some industry insiders, like InfoWorld, as being more secure than traditional local servers, but others believe the cloud risk is steadily rising. In fact, Tech Republic recently reported that Microsoft cloud users have seen “a 300% increase in cyber attacks over the past year.” With so much uncertainty even among experts, cyber liability insurance is a must for businesses that use cloud-based services.

4. Poor Password Practices

According to the 2016 Data Breach Investigation Report from Verizon, an astounding 63% of data breaches may be the result of “weak, default, or stolen passwords.” Sometimes all it takes for a successful cyber attack is one poorly picked password. That means every employee, vendor, and client who has a log-in is a risk. The more log-ins in your system, the more potential security holes.

Be sure to have routine company-wide password changes that set specific security parameters (capital letters, punctuation, length, etc.). You should also regularly remove account log-ins of former employees or other persons with which the company no longer associates.

5. Lack of Employee Education

Not all cyber attacks happen in the dark of night. Phishing is one of the most common methods used by criminals to gain access. In these attacks, the employee believes the criminal to be a reliable or trustworthy person and willingly hands over access to sensitive data. Training employees on how to recognize a phishing attack helps distinguish the fake from the genuine vendors, banks, clients, etc.

The good news is many cyber attack risk factors are easily corrected, and those that can’t be are generally covered by any solid cyber liability insurance policy. With your entire company at stake, there’s no good reason to forego the protection you need in today’s high-threat environment.

About Signature Insurance Group

Signature Insurance Group has been working since 1969 to provide comprehensive insurance solutions to individuals and businesses across the United States. We offer a range of insurance products and services in risk management, employee benefits, business insurance, and personal insurance, and we pride ourselves on our commitment to creating “Signature Relationships” with our clients where we commit to providing the best, most comprehensive service possible. To learn more about our goods and services, contact us today at (800) 464-3606.

Posted in: blog Cyber Liability

Tagged: Cyber Liability Cyber Liability Insurance cyber liability insurance CA OC Cyber Liability Insurance