Businesses needn’t think it is just the larger corporations that get targeted. More small businesses get hit than anyone. Everyone needs to regularly check their firewalls, security protocols, back up systems, general risk management and training and this should extend to other systems such a telephone networks. 31% of cyber attacks are internal and 74% of SME’s are hit by a Cyber Incident.
Here’s a few examples:
- “Unhappy (former) IT Director encrypts customer database”.
- “Manufacturing plant halted for 2 days due to SCADA virus”.
- “Twitter content outrages competitor”.
- “Supermarket loyalty point system fraudulently interfered with by IT staff”.
- “Company faces huge salary bill as they struggle to operate without IT systems for a week”.
- “DDOS attack & extortion demand cripple online company”.
- Phone hacking attack resulted in one phone diverted to a premium rate number for 3 weekends before anyone was aware.
So, think about where you could be exposed. Here’s a little list for you to be getting on with:
- Online sales
- Internal network downtime – not simply a case of logging in remotely
- Using a data centre doesn’t remove risk
- ‘We’ are still the highest risk – social engineering / staff errors. 7 out of 10 people arrested for cyber crime were employees
- Telephone networks – phone hacking
- Is the client the weakest link into another network – 75 % of reported breaches traced to a trusted connection
- Data protection – encryption is just part of the answer
- Business Interruption losses often larger than a data breach costs – 2/3 of DDOS attacks lasted over 6 hours, with 12 % lasting from 1 day to over a week
Cyber Insurance will help you cover the costs including helping you get back on your feet. One thing it will not do is get rid of the grief and hassle caused. Thinking about and implementing some of the measures above will help to reduce that.
It could be you next.