More Security? Really? 

I recently heard a speaker talking about breaches and hacks and she used this as an example;

“Cyber Attacks are up 10x this last year, but people have a problem relating to that number.
I like to tell them this; Remember when gas was $2 a gallon? Now 10x that and tell me it’s not a problem!”  

Now imagine that with current gas prices that would be $40 per gallon plus! People would go insane.  

The problem is, we hear so much about breaches these days, people are simply oversaturated, and it tends to lead to complacency and ignoring the issue. With attacks up 10x this last year, it is simply a matter of time before most businesses have a breach or an attack.  

The question is will you be prepared, and yes that means putting more security in place. Most of it, thankfully, should be managed by your IT provider and should not affect your day-to-day work habits. But yes, it comes at a cost.  

I’ve heard the argument that “well, we’ll just purchase cyber liability insurance”, and you should, but when you do, look closely at the new requirements, don’t just check the boxes like you used to. Because now, most of the new policies require those same security items your IT has been asking you to implement. And if you haven’t, and you have a breach, they will not pay your claim!  

What are the proper protections you ask?  

They include: 

• Multifactor Authentication (on all applications that contain data) 
• Patch Management 

• Strong Passwords (use of a password manager is recommended) 
• Employee Awareness and Education 
• Advanced Endpoint Protection 
• Managed Router 
• And Advanced protections including: 

• Managed Detection and Response 
• Pen Testing  
• Privileged Access Management 
• Zero Trust Networking 

Also, if your IT provider is not asking you to implement these protections or not asking to review your cyber liability application form with you, you need to find a new IT provider, there is just too much at stake. The average cost of a breach these days is between $120,000 and $1.24 million for small businesses, and if you don’t have the right protections and insurance, you will bear that cost.  

In a nutshell: if you don’t have cyber liability insurance already, now would be a good time to get some! And consulting with an IT professional about these protections and how they can work for your business is essential to upping your security game and protecting yourself against potential cyber threats.