I recently received an invitation from Surrey Chamber of Commerce to appear on a panel at an event at Reigate Town Hall, the topic for discussion was cyber security. 
Of course, I was delighted to attend as I believe that the issue of cyber-crime is one that every business should take seriously and I am always happy to support initiatives that raise awareness.
50 or so company owners made up the audience and the discussion was lively and engaging, my fellow panellists included an IT consultant, the owner of a payroll business and two fellow insurance professionals I invited along, both specialists in underwriting of Technology and Cyber-Risks.
Cyber-crime is a live issue for the insurance industry and we must do all that we can to help protect businesses of all sizes from attack. The statistics are startling, the Federation of Small Businesses alone reported that 42% of their members had been attacked in the last 12 months with an average loss of more than £4,000. There are also more frightening statistics out there!
Cyber Insurance is available and we are always happy to discuss levels of cover, but there are also a number of steps that business owners can take to make their data less vulnerable to attack. Whatever size your business is, you should as a minimum:
- Change your passwords regularly and never re-use old passwords
- Only allow access to the parts of your system that are relevant to the personnel involved, for example, does your sales team need access to your purchasing data?
- Back-up your data regularly and thoroughly, it could save you lots of time and money in case of attack
- Have an audit of your IT processes and systems
- Consider applying for Cyber Essentials accreditation, a Government backed initiative that encourages best practice and demonstrates to your customers, staff and suppliers that you are taking their security seriously
To discuss cyber insurance in greater detail, please call us on 0203 328 9999 and we will be delighted to help.