Tech Business Newsletter

Tech firms don’t need cyber insurance – do they?

A government report* earlier this year highlighted that cyber attacks are becoming more frequent. Almost one in three businesses (31 per cent) and a quarter of charities (26 per cent) said they now experience breaches or attacks at least once a week. Tech businesses may imagine that they are more resilient to cyber attacks but in fact they may be even more lucrative targets for attackers than those in other sectors.

Incident response support —Following a cyber incident, you will need to access a variety of experts who can help you to assess any damages and provide critical breach response support, such as legal assistance and incident response professionals who can help you evaluate the situation and follow the appropriate steps to contain a breach and notify affected parties. First-party coverage —There are a number of first-party costs associated with data breaches. Data recovery, cyber extortion and business interruptions expenses can add up quickly, often reaching six figures or more. Cyber liability policies can protect you from devastating financial harm, and help with costs associated with breach notification, security fixes, and identity theft protection. Third-party coverage —Many people overlook the third-party exposures associated with a cyber attack. For instance, if an email sent from your server has a virus that crashes the system of your client, you could be held liable for damages. Cyber liability policies can provide protection for these kinds of costs, reimbursing you for any defence costs, compliance- related fines or even media liability exposures related to defamation cases. A cyber liability insurance policy is specifically designed to address the risks other types of business liability coverage won’t cover. Talk to us about what may be right for your business, and let us help you become more resilient to cyber attacks.

This can be for a number of reasons, including:

• The data they hold is valuable and useful to criminals

• Some hackers may regard cracking a cutting-edge tech firm as a big ‘win’

• Tech organisations are often early adopters of new technology which may not be secure

• Many tech firms have corporate cultures that are designed to stimulate creativity and collaboration, which may result in a large ‘surface’ to protect Following a cyber incident, businesses may have to deal with some big problems, like business disruption, lost revenue and litigation. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to manage your exposure to these risks, not least ensuring you have a robust cyber liability insurance policy which will provide a number of important benefits: Loss mitigation services —Many people think cyber insurance policies only help organisations respond and recover from a breach, but the right cover can also offer proactive loss mitigation support. For instance, cyber liability insurance can provide access to anti-virus software and password generators, and online resources related to cyber security education that businesses can use to identify and mitigate key cyber exposures.

*Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 gov.uk

David Taylor Insurance Executive

TECH BUSINESS | SCRUTTON BLAND | 3

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