We want to talk about cyber liability insurance and why it’s important that your business understands what is covered and what isn’t. It’s something that no business wants to talk about, as the worst-case scenario is often a bit too unnerving to consider.
If you’ve never heard of cyber liability insurance, it’s insurance that allows you to pay a company for protection against events that might cause data loss, or other similar damage, to your computing infrastructure. We know what you’re thinking: “That’s why I pay for security software, like antivirus and firewalls.” While it’s true the two are somewhat conceptually similar, it’s not always so simple.
Let’s say that a hacker has stolen data from a company. That company then becomes liable for the data that’s been stolen, whether it’s personally-identifiable information, medical or financial data. A perfect example of this is the Equifax breach, which exposed the credit information of more than 100 million consumers. Equifax was able to stay in business after one of the worst data breaches in history. Sources state their cyber liability insurance would have covered up to $150 million worth of restitution, but with more than 100 million people’s personally identifiable information being exposed, the liability should be greater than that.
Chances are that your business doesn’t deal with 140 million customers, but cyber liability insurance is an effective backup plan if your network or infrastructure is breached and your customer’s sensitive data is stolen. Responsible businesses will have defensive tactics installed to protect the data from direct assault. One such solution is an antivirus. Depending on the product that you use, or who offers it, any damage done by a data breach or virus on your network might only be covered under incredibly specific circumstances. If the antivirus crashes, or if it’s not up to date, the insurance provider may not be liable and will refuse to reimburse your organization if it is inundated with malware or is the victim of a data breach. As true with any insurance, if the situation doesn’t line up with the language in the agreement, they are not beholden to honor a claim.
Of course, we’re not insurance professionals. We just want to make sure you know where your business stands on cyber liability insurance and what you can do to increase your awareness. There are many reasons why your business would decide they need cyber liability insurance. With data now being viewed as more of a commodity than ever, you are seeing organizations invest more in the protection of their data. Since any situation in which cyber liability insurance would trigger would have resulted in data being stolen or lost, companies need to manage all the negative aspects associated with losing customer’s data, which, outside of the obvious data loss, includes ensuring that their organizational reputation isn’t completely toxic to new and existing customers.
You can start by making sure your business’s antivirus is always up to date to defend against the latest security threats. Advisors Tech can be counted on to keep your antivirus ready to tackle all the latest threats your organization faces. We can remotely patch and secure your company servers, workstations and network components so they’ll be secure against all manners of viruses, malware and other threats.
Remember, we’re not insurance experts, but we do know our way around technology and are experts in protecting organizations against the cyber threats they face. To learn more about how we can help you keep your technology from being a bother, reach out to us at 844.671.6071.