Cyber attacks continue and the impact on small and medium businesses (SMBs) can be devastating. Estimates vary, but Cybercrime Magazine reports that 60 percent of small businesses close within 60 months of a data breach or cyber attack.
Business leaders that are paying attention have shored up their defenses, and many are looking to cyber insurance as an additional way to protect their organizations.
You may be wondering what cyber insurance is, whether it is a good option for your business, and what’s involved in applying for it.
As a managed IT services provider, Kelser posts articles like this to explore technical topics and solutions so that business leaders (like you) have the unbiased, accurate information necessary to select the tools that best fit their organization’s priorities.
Don’t worry…the purpose of this article isn’t to convince you to work with Kelser.
While we offer a comprehensive managed IT services option, we know that managed IT isn’t the right answer for every business. Instead of trying to convince you to work with us, we are committed to being an honest source of information about complex technical topics.
After you read this article, you’ll understand the common cybersecurity tools that insurance providers look for when companies begin the process of applying for cyber insurance.
What Is Cyber Liability Insurance?
Cyber liability insurance (also known as data breach or privacy insurance) policies cover specific losses related to electronic activities that include email, video conferencing, and the collection and storage of data.
According to the Travelers insurance company website, cyber liability insurance policies provide a “combination of coverage options to help protect the company from data breaches and other cyber security issues.”
Some policies also provide financial and professional resources to help organizations recover from cyber attacks.
Related article: Cyber Liability Insurance: What Is It? Why Is It Important?
What Is Cyber Liability Insurance Not?
Cybersecurity insurance is not a perfect solution that will cover all expenses and damages resulting from a cyber attack. It is one part of a comprehensive cybersecurity solution.
Do All Cyber Liability Insurance Policies Require The Same IT Tools?
While each provider has its own specific requirements, there are several cybersecurity tools that are commonly in the mix when applying for cybersecurity insurance policies.
5 IT Tools Commonly Required To Qualify For Cyber Insurance
Listed below, in no particular order, are five cybersecurity tools you should have in place (in addition to a business continuity/disaster recovery plan) before applying for cyber insurance:
1. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA makes it much more difficult for a hacker (or anybody who's determined to do bad things with your information) to get into your computer and, by extension, your entire corporate network.
By requiring at least one additional form of identification beyond a traditional password, MFA provides an extra level of security that bad actors need to circumvent before gaining access to your data and systems.
Related article: What is Multi-Factor Authentication? Do I Need It?
2. Endpoint Protection (Antivirus & Anti-malware)
Endpoint protection tools (like antivirus and anti-malware software applications) prevent file-based malware attacks, detect malicious activity and provide the tools you need to investigate and remediate security incidents.
Related article: 10 Ways To Protect Your Business From Malware Attacks
3. Backups
Regular backups help ensure that you have access to the data you need in the event of a cyber attack or other disaster.
How often should you back up your data? That depends on your business and your risk. Some organizations back up hourly, others back up daily, or weekly.
Different elements of your business may require more frequent backups or backups in different geographic regions, so that if a natural or cyber disaster occurs at one location, your files are safely backed up somewhere else.
And, take the extra step to ensure that your backups are working and that people know how to access them.
Related article: Data Backups Are Key To Disaster Recovery
4. Active Monitoring & Patching
Whether you partner with a managed IT services support provider or have an internal IT staff, monitoring and patching your devices and systems is important. How will you know when something is wrong if nobody is paying attention?
Threats are constantly changing, software needs to be monitored, patched, and updated to ensure critical security and performance issues are addressed. Staying ahead of threats is essential to protecting your IT environment.
Related article: What Is Infrastructure Monitoring? How Does It Prevent Cyber Attacks?
5. Employee Awareness Training
According to published reports, human error accounts for 95 percent of data breaches. Employee awareness training can turn what may be your weakest cybersecurity link into your strongest human firewall.
Social engineering attacks from phishing to ransomware, and anti-fraud to voice duplication, and new threats emerge every day. It's vital for employees to be aware of the latest threats so they have the knowledge they need to protect against them.
Learn why it’s important to provide employee security awareness training.
Read this article to find out three topics every security awareness training must address.
Related article: Employee Security Awareness Training: An Honest Cost-Benefit Analysis
What Advantages Does Cyber Insurance Provide?
Again, different policies provide different protections, but most provide options that can be combined to help protect organizations from data breaches and other cyber security issues.
Policies often provide financial and professional resources to help organizations recover from cyber attacks.
If you are considering applying for cyber insurance, understand your provider's requirements as well as exactly what will be covered and what will not.
You don’t want to pay for insurance only to realize sometime down the road that there are stipulations you hadn’t considered. As with any insurance, it’s good practice to review the policy regularly to ensure your coverage reflects your risk.
Is Cyber Insurance Right For My Organization?
The bottom line is that only you can decide whether cyber insurance is right for your organization. Having said that, most companies underestimate the risk of attack and the financial and reputation damage associated with a cyberattack.
After reading this article, you have a clear understanding of what cyber insurance is, what it provides for businesses, and five IT tools you’ll likely need to have in place before applying for coverage.
Related article: 3 Reasons Small & Medium Businesses Are Top Targets For Cyberattacks
At this point, you might be uncertain whether cyber insurance is worth the investment. We can’t answer that question for you, but our customers report that cyber insurance is frequently becoming a contractual requirement.
If you find yourself wondering whether you have the right cybersecurity tools in place, click the button below for a free cybersecurity checklist you can use to learn five best practices and actions you must take to protect your business from the latest cyber threats. This checklist will help you:
✔️Understand where your organization's cybersecurity policy needs improving
✔️Learn actions you can take to keep your organization's data secure
✔️Ensure your organization follows the latest cybersecurity best practices
Feeling overwhelmed by cybersecurity? Don’t have the internal IT support you need to develop plans and implement security tools?
You may be considering partnering with an external IT support organization. If that is the case, we encourage you to explore several options to ensure that you find an organization that is the right fit for you.
We take this advice so seriously that we’ve even done some of the legwork for you. Check out this honest, head-to-head comparison of the services offered by Whalley Associates and those offered by Kelser.
Based on publicly available information from the websites of each organization, we provide several comparison articles in our Learning Center.
We know it’s a little bit unusual for us to publish information about our competitors, but we know the first thing we do when considering a product or service is to check the internet. The way we see it, we’re just saving you a step.
Whether you ultimately decide to work with Kelser or a competitor, we are committed to providing honest information you can use to find the IT service provider that is the right fit for you.
Here’s another unusual piece of honesty. While we provide a full suite of cybersecurity tools and solutions in our managed IT support services, we know that managed IT isn’t the right solution for every organization. That’s okay!
We don’t claim to be a perfect fit for every business and, if someone tells you they have a perfect IT solution, be doubtful. The truth is that until an IT provider learns about your business and your priorities, they can’t possibly know what you need.
We take the time to get to know our partners and work with them to develop the best solutions for their unique business. If you’d like to explore whether we are a good fit to work together, click the link below and we’ll set up an exploratory call at your convenience.
