Cyber insurance: What you need to qualify for coverage

If you’re a small-business owner with limited knowledge of technology, the concept of cyber insurance may seem complex and intimidating. However, understanding cyber insurance and its importance is essential to safeguard your business from the potentially devastating consequences of cyberthreats.

What is cyber insurance?

Cyber insurance is a specialized policy that shields businesses from crushing financial losses caused by cyberattacks and data breaches. It’s a safety net in the digital realm. Cyberattacks can target businesses of all sizes, but the impact can be particularly severe for small businesses. In fact, cybercriminals often view small businesses as easy targets due to their valuable data and limited security measures. This makes cyber insurance crucial for small companies, as it helps cover the costs associated with cyber incidents, such as data recovery, legal expenses, and business interruption.

However, cyber insurance is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

What type of companies would benefit from cyber insurance?

Different types of companies have varying needs when it comes to cyber insurance coverage. While all businesses can benefit from having some form of cyber insurance, certain industries are particularly at risk.

For example, if you’re in the business of handling sensitive customer information such as healthcare and financial data, you’re a prime target for cyberthreats and should have cyber insurance coverage.

Before businesses can acquire cyber insurance, insurance companies typically have specific minimum requirements. These requirements may vary among insurers, but they generally involve evaluating a company’s existing cybersecurity measures.

The minimum requirements to qualify for a cyber insurance policy

Insurers have specific minimum requirements that businesses must meet to qualify for a cyber insurance policy. Here are some key areas insurers may focus on:

1. Security protocols

Insurers will inquire about the company’s security protocols and procedures. This includes understanding how the company protects its digital assets, such as its networks, systems, and sensitive data. They may look for evidence of industry-standard security measures, such as the use of firewalls, secure remote access, and intrusion prevention systems. Insurers will also assess the company’s incident response plan and how it handles security breaches.

2. Data encryption practices

Insurers may require information about the company’s data encryption practices. Encryption is a crucial security measure that protects sensitive information from unauthorized access. Insurers may ask about the encryption methods used to protect data both at rest (stored on servers or devices) and in transit (being transmitted over networks). They may look for strong encryption protocols, such as 256-bit encryption, and inquire about the extent to which encryption is implemented across different types of data, including customer information, financial records, and intellectual property.

3. Employee training programs

Insurers know that employees play a vital role in maintaining a strong security posture. So, they may investigate the company’s employee training programs, specifically if these are relevant to cybersecurity awareness. These programs must include educating employees on potential cyberthreats, best practices for secure online behavior, and how to identify and report suspicious activities such as phishing emails.

Additionally, insurers may look for evidence of regular training sessions, awareness campaigns, or the use of online training platforms to ensure employees are equipped to protect sensitive data and systems.

4. Network security infrastructure

Insurers will assess the company’s network security infrastructure to understand the measures in place to protect against unauthorized access and potential cyberattacks. They may look into whether a company implements network segmentation, which involves dividing the network into separate segments to limit access and reduce the impact of a potential breach. They may also look for evidence of regular network monitoring and vulnerability assessments.

5. Other requirements

In addition to the above, insurers may have requirements specific to their policies or the industry. These could include regular patch management practices to keep software and systems up to date with the latest security patches, the use of multifactor authentication for access to critical systems, and regular data backups to ensure the ability to recover in case of a ransomware attack or data loss.

By demonstrating a strong commitment to cybersecurity, businesses can enhance their chances of obtaining comprehensive and suitable cyber insurance coverage. Want to learn if you can benefit from obtaining a cyber insurance policy? Consult NetWize’s team of IT experts today.

Which of your employees are most at risk of cyberattacks?

In today’s digital age, cyberattacks are a constant threat to businesses of all sizes and industries. While cybercriminals target entire systems and specific individuals alike, some employees or roles within an organization may be more vulnerable to cyberattacks than others. This susceptibility can be due to a variety of factors, such as users’ access to sensitive information, lack of cybersecurity training, or the nature of work.

In this article, we’ll explore the types of employees or roles that are highly susceptible to cyberattacks and the steps your organization can take to mitigate the risks associated with these vulnerabilities.

C-suite executives

C-suite executives and their assistants are often targeted by cybercriminals because of their high profile and the perceived value of the knowledge they possess. As top-level decision-makers, C-suite executives have access to highly sensitive and valuable information, including financial data, trade secrets, and strategic plans. Their assistants, who often manage their schedules and communication channels, may also have access to confidential information and important contacts.

As such, these groups of people may be targeted with phishing emails, social engineering tactics, or other sophisticated attacks designed to compromise their devices and steal sensitive data.

New employees

New employees or interns in a company can be particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks for several reasons. Firstly, they may not be familiar with the company’s cybersecurity policies and procedures, which makes them more likely to make mistakes or fall prey to social engineering tactics that cybercriminals use.

Also, new employees and interns may be eager to impress and gain the trust of their colleagues, which can lead them to take risks or ignore warning signs that a message or email is suspicious. This eagerness to prove themselves may also make them more likely to bypass security measures, such as password policies or firewalls, to access sensitive information that they’re not supposed to access.

Finance and accounting departments

The finance and accounting departments of most organizations are prime targets for cybercriminals because they handle a variety of financial information: payment data, bank account details, and financial records. They also often process large amounts of transactions, which compels cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities in payment systems.

These departments may also use outdated software or hardware that were not designed with modern cybersecurity risks in mind, making them vulnerable to cybercrime. What’s more, financial processes require a high degree of human involvement and difficulty, thus making them more prone to errors — and human error remains the major cause of most cyber incidents. According to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing scams, business email compromise attempts, and stolen credentials are behind more than 80% of security breaches reported.

IT staff

IT personnel are responsible for maintaining the security of the company’s digital infrastructure, which makes them the perfect prey for cybercriminals seeking to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or systems. They also have administrative privileges that allow them to change network configurations or access confidential information, making them valuable targets for cyberattacks.

How can you keep vulnerable employees secure?

Here are some ways for each of the mentioned groups to toughen their defenses against cyberattacks:

C-suite executives and their assistants:

Conduct regular security awareness training for all employees, including C-suite executives and their assistants, to educate them on the latest cyberthreats and how to avoid them.
Limit the amount of sensitive information shared over email and other communication channels, and use secure file-sharing platforms when necessary.
Implement access controls to limit the amount of sensitive information that C-suite executives and their assistants can access, and monitor their activities closely to detect and respond to potential security breaches.

New employees:

Provide cybersecurity training for new employees and interns as part of their onboarding process.
Restrict their access to sensitive information and ensure that your company has robust access controls in place.
Strictly enforce using proper communication channels, such as company email or secure messaging apps, for work-related communication.

Finance and accounting departments:

Regularly update financial systems and software applications to ensure that they are patched against known vulnerabilities.
Use encryption and secure file sharing platforms to protect sensitive financial data in transit and at rest.
Implement multifactor authentication for all financial transactions.

IT staff:

Use strong encryption to safeguard data in transit and at rest.
Update software and firmware regularly to protect all systems and devices from known vulnerabilities.
Use intrusion detection and prevention systems to detect and respond to potential security breaches in real time.

Consult NetWize’s team to learn how you can increase your organization’s protection against online threats. Request a free consultation today.

7 Cloud security best practices to protect your data

If you’re one of many organizations that have fully adopted cloud computing, your need to implement strong cloud security measures has become more critical than ever. Cloud security ensures that data and applications hosted in the cloud are protected from cyberthreats. And the potential risks associated with using cloud services are simply too great and wide-ranging to ignore. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022, 45% of breaches are cloud-based.

As you store more sensitive information in the cloud, your risk of data loss or exposure increases, which is why it’s essential to understand the best measures and strategies to safeguard data in the cloud.

How can you protect against cloud security threats?

The goal of most cyberattacks today is to disrupt the normal flow of activities and operations in your system. To prevent these threats from compromising your environment, you need to implement the following security measures:

1. Develop a backup and disaster recovery strategy

A backup and disaster recovery (BDR) strategy is a crucial element of cloud security, as it provides the necessary protection against unexpected outages or other disasters that can cause costly downtime and data loss. Without a BDR plan in place, your organization is at risk of losing all of your data in the cloud, which could have a severe financial impact. Your BDR strategy should be well documented and regularly tested to ensure that it won’t fail in case of an actual disaster.

2. Implement strong authentication methods

Implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA) can help ensure that only authorized users are able to access sensitive data and applications in your cloud services and applications. 2FA and MFA add an additional layer of protection for your cloud environment, helping to prevent malicious actors from infiltrating accounts and systems.

3. Leverage encryption technologies

Encryption protects data stored in the cloud by making it unreadable and inaccessible without the necessary keys or passwords. As such, it’s an essential component of any cloud security strategy, keeping malicious actors from gaining unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Cloud encryption can be used in a variety of ways, including in transit (during data transfer) and at rest (while the data is stored). Your organization should also consider using key management solutions to ensure that encryption keys are properly managed and stored securely.

4. Enforce access controls

Role-based access control (RBAC) is a security mechanism that restricts access to data or applications based on a user’s role or job function within an organization. By doing so, RBAC helps prevent data breaches and insider threats. It also helps to simplify the management of access control by providing a centralized system for assigning and revoking access rights to certain resources.

5. Revisit and update cloud security policies

Cloud security policies should be regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they reflect the current state of a company’s IT environment. It also pays to implement automated tools for monitoring policy compliance and alerting teams when changes are needed. This is one way to guarantee that cloud security policies remain effective and in line with best practices.

6. Monitor user activity for suspicious behavior

Monitoring user activity for suspicious behavior allows organizations to identify and address potential threats and malicious actors before they can cause significant damage.

7. Deploy endpoint security solutions

Endpoint security solutions offer advanced protection against hackers, malware, ransomware, and other malicious threats that target your systems. They provide an extra layer of defense by creating a secure perimeter around endpoints, such as PCs and mobile devices.

By following these steps, you can protect your data and applications from various cyberthreats while ensuring a secure cloud environment. Consult NetWize’s team of cybersecurity professionals on how to fortify your cloud environment. Get in touch with us today.