Cyber Insurance for Business

There’s a wide range of digital risks to businesses. Targeted hacking attempts, malware such as Trojan horse viruses and the ever-present phishing attempts all pose threats to your everyday business operations.

Cyber liability insurance, included as part of a professional indemnity insurance package, is designed specifically to help cover you in the event that you suffer loss or interruption as a result of these kinds of activities.

Some common examples include:

• Lost revenue incurred by online service interruptions.
• Legal costs for damages claimed by third parties in the event of data loss or leakage.
• Ransom demands by hackers who have gained access to your network.
• Costs of legal, IT and security support following data protection breaches.
• Expenses of restoring data and equipment following a cyber attack.
• Mitigation of reputational damage following a security breach.

Modern businesses face a multitude of digital threats. No matter how robust your security systems are, there are still risks due to network exposure and software failures. These are a few of the most common types of attack:

• Malware: this includes viruses, worms and Trojan horse attacks.

• Denial of service attacks: these can take down your network with excess traffic, stopping your customers from accessing your products or services.

• Man-in-the-middle attacks: interception of legitimate communications to steal data.

• Hacking: techniques like SQL injection can allow a hacker to gain unauthorised access to web back-ends or applications.

• Phishing: you or your employees can inadvertently fall victim to fraudulent emails sent to access data or payment information.

The results of these attacks range from service outages to ransom demands. If your business is affected, the results can be costly and damaging to your reputation. A robust cyber security insurance package can cover your costs and keep you in business.

Cyber insurance can cover your business for losses incurred as a result of digital crime or malicious actions online. Typically this results in interrupted services, loss of data or equipment, reputational damage and sometimes legal action.

Cyber cover can help protect your business against the instance of theft or ransom demands from hackers who have breached your systems. Business losses incurred by network downtime as well as reputational damage can also be covered.

Cyber crime can take many forms. And unfortunately, techniques for malicious access develop, just as technology does. However, should you be affected, cyber security insurance is specially formulated to protect you and your assets. The main types of issues covered are:

• Hackers may break into your systems and steal data or ask you to pay ransom money to release data or services.

• Equipment like laptops, tablets or flash drives can be lost, damaged or stolen by employees. If they contain sensitive data, the consequences can be severe.

• Business interruptions caused by hacking or malware can be costly.

• Denial of service attacks can cripple your web services. Insurance can cover you for lost revenue.

In today's digital world, cyber liability insurance is an important consideration to counter cyber threats. Unlike some types of cover, it isn’t a legal requirement for businesses.

However, business owners with network operations, client information and online payment systems, or even those who use email or Cloud storage, or store data on their devices, should consider it.