As cyber security threats continue to grow in the United States, it’s necessary for all businesses, large and small, to be educated and prepare in the event they become a victim of an attack. Small businesses face the same threats as larger corporations but often have fewer resources to protect themselves. However, there are cost-effective methods to protecting any sized business.

Most hackers intend to steal sensitive data such as customer credit cards or other personal credentials like social security numbers. This information is used to make purchases, apply for loans, or other types of identity theft and result in a maelstrom of legal and financial trouble.

If your business uses the Internet for any facet of your operations, especially email and payment processing, understanding the most common threats can save you time and money.

3 Common Cyber Attacks

Below are 3 of the most common cyber threats that can affect your business.

Phishing: The fraudulent method of sending emails posing as reputable companies to trick individuals into revealing personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers online. This can be prevented by instilling good practices for everyone to follow such as checking the email address before opening or clicking links within the body of an email or accept downloads in order to read the email.

Inside attack: When an employee within your business uses their administrative privileges to abuse confidential information. This is common with disgruntled employees, former or otherwise. This can be avoided by revoking all access as soon as an employee leaves your company or before if you know about the termination in advance.

Malware: Malicious programs that are installed on a computer without the user knowing its intent is to cause damage or gain access to sensitive data. This can be prevented by restricting administrative rights on a pc to not include downloads.

Whether it’s minor business interruption or a major financial loss from a data breach, sometimes you fall victim as there is no guaranteed method to predict an attack. Apart from training your employees and having a more secure network infrastructure, Cyber Insurance offers a way to protect your business and become whole again in the event of a loss resulting from a cyber attack.

Cyber Insurance: Often overlooked, many companies believe this type of insurance is only for large corporations and can be expensive. However, more companies are offering affordable plans for businesses of any size that will match your budget to your risk needs.

The most common type of coverage is First-Party liability, which covers the general costs incurred because of a data breach. First-party liability includes legal expenses, business interruption (the loss resulting from the temporary shutdown of your business), and customer notification.

Third-party liability, the second most common coverage type, protects you if sensitive information about your customers is stolen and covers the defense costs if that customer decides to sue you for negligence among other reasons.

If you’d like a thorough review to know how Cyber Security coverage can protect your business, please call our agency at       203-787-6781 and speak with our insurance experts today.