Courtesy of NBT Insurance
By Tucker Lounsbury
Cyberattacks on small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) continue to rise and will only intensify over the next few years. With the increased prevalence and cost of attacks, the absence of a safety net like cyber insurance is no longer an option SMBs can afford.
Assessing The Threat
Ransomware is one of the most common forms of hacking and includes the cybercriminal holding files or devices hostage in exchange for payment. Unfortunately, bad actors know that SMBs, in general, are less likely to have the full spectrum of safeguards in place, leaving them particularly vulnerable to this growing threat.
According to Astra, ransomware attacks have risen by 13 percent in the past five years, with an average cost of $1.85 million per incident. By 2031, it is predicted that a ransomware attack will happen every two seconds.
While training employees and requiring measures like strong passwords, regular password resets and multi-factor authentication are critical lines of defense, these steps are no longer enough.
Establishing a Safety Net
As an added layer of security, businesses large and small should invest in appropriate cyber liability and modern crime insurance policies. Cyber insurance typically refers to two forms of critical coverage: privacy exposures, which covers third party liability if personal information is stolen or compromised; and related first party expense coverage, which helps businesses mitigate the costs of damages and recovery resulting from a cyber-attack, which can be very costly. Modern crime policies protect physical theft of money that might be the focus of the bad actors targeting business networks.
