Insurance Perspective

Jordan Tirone

DeSanctis Insurance Agency, Inc.

Cyber Attacks Top Todays Risk to You and Your Company

As we take a closer look at cyber risk, it is helpful to consider two questions: Do you have a Cyber Incident Response Plan? Will you survive a cyber-attack?

Regardless of the industry in which your firm operates, cyber risks can be broken down into three categories: Data, Disruption, and Dollars. In this article, we’ll take a look at how each one of these risks can cripple contractors and subcontractors. Data:

Corporate Data: Every contractor uses and stores a variety of in-house data. This data can include, but not limited to proprietary blue prints and plans, financials, business development models, the list can go on. Nonetheless, this is information that you would never want accessible to the outside public.

Employee Data: As an employer, you possess and are trusted with your employee’s personal data, such as social security numbers, bank accounts, and medical records.

Data in Transit: More now than ever we rely on remote technology and are constantly transferring data, which often is stored with a third party. Many have the perception that the respected third party protects and holds responsibility for the safe keeping of this data. This unfortunately is not true whereas the collector/owner of that data maintains legal responsibly, which cannot be transferred even by written contract.

Dollars and Assets: Cyber criminals are after your money and your clients’ money.

Who/What poses a threat?: Not all attacks come from the outside (hackers, ransomware, keyloggers, and business email compromise). Employees are also a large driver of cyber losses. One of the best examples of the damage a malicious or disgruntled employee can cause comes from a professional services firm in the UK. The story goes like this: A firm hires a new employee to perform data entry and data integration, the employee works from 9am to 5pm and then leaves work, bringing all their data from work home with them to their significant other who is a hacker. The hacker uses this information to commit wide-scale insurance fraud.

What can I do to protect my company and its assets?

With any surge of negative incidents comes positive resources to counteract. Below are a few day to day actions that can be taken to better ensure cyber resiliency.

Firewalls and Anti-Virus Software: Think about this from the analogy of a burglar looking to continued on page 53

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Insurance Perspective continued from page 51 rob a house. The firewall or anti-virus is a fence around the property. Does a fence prevent every burglary? No. Does it make it a little bit harder? Yes.

Strong Passwords and Password Manage-

ment: Everyone reading this may have just rolled their eyes, but a huge number of cyber incidents could be thwarted by stronger passwords and password management.

Back-Ups: Information of any kind should be backed up. The list goes on of resources and avenues to back up your information but nonetheless multiple backups are certainly helpful in the event that data Boston Area and or information is compromised or stolen. Locations

Employee Training: The vast majority of cyber incidents involve 2 Dexter Street the human element at some point Bo Eve st re on tt, Area MA 02149 Boston Area in the process. Training employees to be on the lookout for suspicious Locat431 Sec ionsond Street Locations emails or behavior within the com- 2 Dexte Everett r , Street MA 021 2 49 Dexter Street pany will go a long way in creating Everett, MA 021 Eve49 rett, MA 02149 a company culture that takes cyber risk seriously. 431 Second Stre 43et 1 Second Street

Cyber Insurance: A lot has Everett, MA 021 Eve49 rett, MA 02149 changed in the insurance world BOSTON AREA LOCATIONS over the past ten years, especially with respect to cyber insurance. 2 Dexter Street Everett, MA 02149 100 Fremont Street Worcester, MA 01603 431 Second Street Everett, MA 02149 Cyber Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism that shifts the financial burden of a cyber incident from an organization to an insurer.

All in all the cyber world can be a very scary place that can be crippling to a business. With

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