Your business is unique and so is your level of cyber risk.
While every company could be vulnerable to a cyber attack to some degree, those handling sensitive customer data, processing online payments or relying heavily on digital infrastructure are especially exposed. When the stakes are higher, so is the need for robust cyber security and insurance protection.
You might be at greater risk than you think.
Do you store customer information online?
Whether you keep customer email addresses in an online marketing platform or store personal information in a digital database, safeguarding that sensitive data is an important part of managing cyber risk.
If your customers’ information is compromised, it could expose them to:
Unauthorized disclosure of personal information
Identity theft
Fraud.
A cyber insurance policy may help your business manage some of the costs associated with a data breach, such as notifying affected customers, providing credit monitoring services to customers, hiring cyber forensic experts to investigate the crime and covering certain legal expenses.
Do you process payments electronically?
Businesses that process sales electronically handle sensitive financial information. Although payment services have security measures in place, cyber criminals frequently target payment systems because of the valuable information they contain.
If payment information is compromised, it could result in:
Financial losses from fraudulent transactions or stolen funds
Exposure of sensitive business banking information
Shutting down the business while systems are restored.
A cyber insurance policy may help cover some of the financial impacts of a cyber breach, including the cost of losing business while systems are being restored and system recovery costs.
Do you store employee records on a computer?
Employee records often contain highly sensitive information, including social insurance numbers (SINs), payroll details, addresses and other personal information. A cyber breach involving employee records can have serious consequences for employees and the business.
If that information is compromised, it could result in:
Identity theft
Exposure of confidential employee information
Potential legal, regulatory or privacy-related costs.
Depending on the coverage, cyber insurance may help businesses respond to these incidents by paying for specialized experts and covering certain costs related to investigating and managing breaches.
Assess Your Cyber Readiness
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you’re handling sensitive data.
To find out about some of the possible strengths and weaknesses of your business and its readiness to ward off a cyber breach, take our Cyber Insurance Assessment. These 10 questions can help you learn about cyber security protocols and the best practices that most cyber insurers look for when assessing risk.
For example, you will be asked to consider:
Whether you collect and store customers’ personal information
What cyber security procedures you have in place
How often your employees receive cyber safety training.
These questions are similar to those you might see on an application for cyber insurance.
While this free tool can’t provide an actual risk assessment, it can help you find out if you’re a good candidate for cyber insurance and help determine where you may need to bolster your business’ cyber security.
For more resources on how you can help reduce your business’ cyber risk, visit CyberSavvyCanada.ca.
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