Ben Cavallo
C&S Insurance Agency
Cyber Insurance In today’s environment, all business owners, regardless of their industry or the size of their company, need to be aware of the dangers of cybersecurity threats. Cybercriminals are constantly modifying their techniques, which means it’s more important than ever to have a cybersecurity plan — especially since cyber threats to companies is on the rise due to COVID-19. The increase of employees working from home are exposing vulnerabilities in many company’s infrastructures.
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f you’re a privately owned company, you might think cybercriminals would rather target larger, public companies. This is far from true. In fact, almost 70% of small and medium size entities (SMEs) experience cyber-attacks, and without a cybersecurity plan and proper insurance, they run the risk of going out of business. 60% of small businesses that experience a data breach or cyber-attack close within six months.
The Rapidly Evolving World of Cyber Crimes TOP 5 TYPES OF CYBERSECURITY THREATS TO SMALL BUSINESSES 1. Malware Malware (or malicious software) is a cyber-attack that “executes unauthorized actions on the victim’s system.”.This can be deployed through ransomware, viruses, phishing, or other malevolent tactics.
2. Viruses Although there are different types of viruses, all are programmed to harm your hardware. Computer viruses can damage programs, harm or delete files, or slow down computer performance. You can get a virus in a variety of ways including sharing files, opening infected emails, visiting a malicious site, and downloading harmful applications. JUNE, 2022
3. Ransomware Ransomware, as the name suggests, holds a company’s important information for ransom. This includes passwords, credit card and other personal information, files, databases, applications, and other valuable assets. The “ransom” typically has to be paid within 24-48 hours, or the files will be lost or compromised personal information will be shared publicly. Ransomware is most often spread through email spam or network attacks and often targets small businesses. In July of 2021, a ransomware syndicate called the REvil gang orchestrated a large attack via Kaseya, a company that provides small and mediumsized IT and security management solutions. This attack left between 800 and 1,500 small business continued on page 74
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