Cyber Risk Protection and Prevention: What You Need to Know

Cyber incidents are the third largest business risk in the world1 and the second largest in the U.S.2

In 2016, the number of data breaches in the U.S. hit 1,093. That’s a 40% increase from 2015 – and a record high.3

Is your organization vulnerable?

The most common causes of company breaches include:

  • Organized crime (hacker attacks)
  • Data/security breaches
  • Malware/viruses
  • Employee errors

Cyber risk spans all industries and company sizes. Most organizations don’t even know a breach has happened until long after the incident occurs. It’s not about if an incident will occur, but when.

Also, cyber security isn’t just an IT issue. It is important that technology is up-to-date and security is in place, but employee education is also important. Employee error is a top cause of cyber incidents.

Investing time and resources to educate personnel on risks and taking protective measures is critical. Particularly, focus on procedures that allow you to manage employee access and permissions.

Do you have sufficient cyber liability coverage?

The effects of an incident can be extensive during—and in the aftermath of—a breach. That’s why having cyber liability coverage is crucial. It can mitigate financial impacts and reduce potential losses. Without proper coverage, your costs may include:

  • Non-compliance penalties
  • Business interruption/loss of customers
  • Liability claims
  • Reputational impacts
  • Data restoration costs

And, despite the increase in risk, the cost of cyber liability coverage is actually decreasing. Terms and services are better than ever.

Steps you can take to mitigate risk

There are many things you can do to protect against cyber risk.

  1. First steps include identifying potential exposures to create a cyber risk profile.
  2. Taking it one step further, you can estimate how much money a breach might cost your company. According to CSO Online, failing other financial metrics, many use a  rule of thumb of around $154/record4).
  3. Lastly, test and audit, and identify current risk policies and procedures.

Your cyber liability partner

Cyber liability coverage has been around for almost 20 years, yet many companies haven’t taken the necessary steps to develop a strategy that includes risk assessment and insurance.

That’s where Pritchard & Jerden comes in. Our clients trust us to help them identify and quantify risk. We work with you to design risk management programs to help reduce the financial impacts of potential incidents.

If you’d like a second opinion on your cyber risk program, or to get a better sense of how leading companies are protecting themselves, contact P&J. We’d love to earn your trust and help you more confidently tackle cyber risk.

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