How To Protect Your Company Against Cyber Crimes

Since the advent of the internet boom in the late 1990’s, our lives have become increasingly tied to the digital world. This has become even more true since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced many companies to conduct their business online in order to stay afloat. On top of that, we’ve become used to the ease of modern digital conveniences: it’s so simple to purchase things by setting up an online account on our favorite websites with our banking and other personal information linked to it for one-click buying. 

However, with the convenience of online commerce also comes the risk of cyber crimes. As the digital sphere has become more profitable, hackers and scammers have focused their targets on stealing not just money, but valuable personal data that can be sold and used for larger schemes. 

As a business owner, you want to make sure that the information stored on your company’s digital servers stays protected. Otherwise, you risk suffering from a crucial data breach, as well as expensive liability lawsuits from those who might experience hardship as a result of having their personal information exposed. In order to make sure that your company has the coverage it needs in the event of a cyber attack, you’ll want to make sure that you have the help of cyber insurance companies, which can provide insurance policies specifically geared toward protecting you when your business’ digital data is exposed. 

What is Cyber Insurance? 

Cyber insurance is a relatively new form of insurance coverage that’s become increasingly popular in the digital age. As more businesses have shifted to storing important information online, including customers’ credit card numbers, addresses, emails, phone numbers, and even social security numbers, it’s become of paramount importance to keep that data safe. In the wrong hands, that kind of information could be used for identity theft, which could create incredible financial hardship for the customer whose information has been stolen. 

Cyber insurance companies provide policies that will help your business with the costs related to a cyber data breach. Data breaches can be incredibly expensive, as you must not only notify the customers whose data may have been compromised, but also conduct an investigation to find the source of the breach, and if possible, bring the culprit to justice. At the same time, you may find your business subject to liability lawsuits if a breach occurs from the customers who have been harmed. By getting a cyber insurance policy from cyber insurance companies, you ensure that your business will be able to handle even the worst cyber attacks. 

What Does Cyber Insurance Cover? 

Cyber insurance covers the cost of many things that your business will have deal with after a data breach: 

Computer Forensic Investigation

When a data breach occurs, you’ll need to hire a computer forensics consultant in order to investigate how the breach occurred and which of your customers may have had their information leaked. They’ll also be able determine the scope of the breach to see how much of your company’s data may have been exposed, and can help you create a plan for implementing stronger data privacy practices in the future. Computer forensic consultant fees can be costly, and your cyber insurance policy will aid in covering these expenses. 

Notifying Victims

If your business suffers a data breach, you’ll also be tasked with notifying victims of the breach. This can be an incredibly lengthy and costly process. Luckily, cyber insurance companies can help, as cyber insurance policies typically cover the cost of determining and notifying potential data breach victims. 

Liability Lawsuits

In extreme circumstances, you may find your business sued by the victims of a data breach that occured. These types of liability lawsuits are typically class-action lawsuits, which serve to compensate all the victims of a given data breach for hardships experienced as a result of their information being leaked. Given the sheer amount of people who can be involved as plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit, you can expect to pay a hefty settlement fee on top of traditional lawyer fees. However, if you’ve got cyber insurance, your policy will help your business cover the costs of liability lawsuits.

In Conclusion

As more and more of our information is stored online, it’s essential for your business to have cyber insurance. Cyber insurance companies ensure that you have the protection that you need in the event of data breach due to a cyber attack. A good cyber insurance policy can help keep your company financially afloat when dealing with the expensive aftermath of a data breach. Cyber insurance provides coverage for the cost of computer forensic investigations, notifying victims of a potential breach, and for the legal fees associated with class-action liability lawsuits. Given this, if you’re a business owner who stores any important information on an online server, you should have a cyber insurance policy.