If your business stores or controls any kind of personal customer information, you have a cyber liability risk. Even if you don’t store customer information electronically, you still have a risk of identity theft. The insurance industry has a key role to play in helping U.S. companies strengthen cybersecurity, a senior Treasury Department official said Thursday.
More than 40 percent of small businesses don’t have an adequate IT securitybudget, according to a November 2014 survey by the Ponemon Institute. According to a 2014 study by the National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of small businesses close their doors within six months of a data breach. A data or cyber breach can not only cost a business money, but also their reputation.
Top Breaches For Small Businesses
- Third-Party Breeches.
- Employee misuse of information.
- Socially engineered trojans- An end-user browses to a usually trusted website, which prompts him or her to run a trojan. Most of the time the website is a legitimate, innocent victim, whose website has been temporarily compromised by hackers.
Cyber Liability Prevention Tips
- Outsource credit card handling with a reputable vendor.
- Use more complex passwords with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Here is an example (MP#09xT28S%).
- Don’t save passwords on your computer.
- Question your internet security at every level, including email. It may be time to encrypt all emails.
- Use the latest security software.
- Do not allow laptops to leave the office without proper security.
- Train your employees on cyber security.
- Do not use an open network.
Cyber Insurance
We can provide your firm with the right combination of pricing and coverage. Cyber risk insurance is available at very reasonable premiums. Many of our companies offer coverage to help protect your business from loss.
Davidson Stewart Morelock Independent Insurance Group LLC (DSM) was formed in 2008 (Originally Stewart Morelock Insurance, est. 2005) by insurance professionals with over 50 years of combined experience in the property & casualty insurance industry….experience includes; senior officers of regional insurance companies & wholesalers, reinsurance brokers, personal & commercial insurance production agents, agency owners, underwriting managers & agency directors. DSM is directly appointed with all major insurance carriers and brokers, and has the capability to place virtually all lines of business and personal lines insurance.