“Once bitten twice shy” goes the expression, but for some organisations there is no way back from a damaged reputation. Are you taking this risk as seriously as you should?
In this article Ron Yellon, Auditel highlights two ways organisations are taking action today to manage cyber threat risk: outsource and insure.
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OUTSOURCE: Managed services demand increasingly driven by cyber threat risks
“Over a third of IT operations at mid-sized companies will move to an outsourced managed service over the next five years, as IT directors seek security as well as cost reductions. This is being spurred by the growing and more visible risk of cyber attack, the increased compliance costs and the downside for reputation in the event of failure.”
These are findings cited by writes Karl Flinders, Services Editor, Computer Weekly 12 Jun 2015 17:00
Research by Vanson Bourne for communications supplier Daisy Corporate Services, writes Karl, suggests that 67% said this is to reduce costs, 55% said they were driven to outsource security by growing cyber threats, ahead of gaining organisational agility (50%) and optimising existing IT resources (40%).
- Read Karl’s piece in Computer Weekly here
- More on making business sense of the cloudscape from Ron here: Get ahead in the cloud: an intelligent migration path that unites finance and IT
INSURE: Insurance offers an alternative approach to manage risk
The risk of organisations experiencing data breaches has become self-evident. Just a cursory glance at the news will reveal countless cases both big and small, such as the data breach of more than 2,000 Tesco customers’ personal details and the 2013 hacking at US retailer Target. Remember the problems at Ebay? Who will be next?
Data breaches have become a fact of life – there is no escaping the possibility that your business could be hit by a massive data breach, generating steep fines and shattering your business’ long-developed reputation in one fell swoop.
You cannot afford to wait – if your business does not have cyber liability cover, now is the time to act. If you are planning to outsource then insurance could offer a temporary solution to your exposure.
What does it cover?
Because cyber liability insurance is comparatively new, available in the market only for the last 10 years or so, confusion still exists as to what exactly it covers.
Cyber liability insurance can cover the cost of restoring loss to business income or damage caused by a data breach, network interruption, system failure and more. Policies can also cover third-party risks, such as your customer’s property. A traditional business liability policy is extremely unlikely to protect against most of these exposures.
Specialist expertise is essential
Although it sounds fairly simple, make no mistake: purchasing cyber liability insurance can be tricky. It requires a specialist broker to tailor a policy to your business’ unique risks. Cyber liability policies are rarely one-size fits-all. Working with a knowledgeable broker will help you pinpoint your business’ biggest cyber liability risks and craft a policy to cover every one.
Additionally, cyber liability requires constant stewardship, even if you already have a robust cyber liability policy. New technology with the capability to cripple your organisation emerges every day. Without perpetual maintenance, you risk a cyber breach simply by refusing to stay up-to-date on the latest threats.
To speak to our CII specialist partners about bespoke cyber liability insurance, without obligation, please contact Ron Yellon, Auditel in the first instance on 01223 654314 or 01234 865869 or email ron.yellon@auditel.co.uk
Links to other articles in this series:
- Guard your data: Beware the devil within! about preventing external and internal threats to data security
- Shh! A confidential insurance audit cures renewal period pain or how to shop around for corporate insurance without spoiling the market or upsetting existing broker relationships.
