Cyber attacks have surged this year with over 12,000 incidents reported between January and May 2022 alone. Small to Medium-sized Businesses (“SMEs”) are especially vulnerable to these growingly sophisticated attacks as they typically lack the resources to maintain a robust cyber security posture. Cyber attackers are aware of this and focus on targeting particularly vulnerable companies including family-owned and services-oriented businesses. Over 84% of SMEs faced cyber incidents in the years

Cyber Threats are now Global in Scale By all accounts, the geopolitical landscape of the early 2020s is more unstable and less predictable than at any other point in near history. The Russo-Ukraine conflict, trade war with China, and after-effects of a global pandemic all contribute to an increasingly precarious position for the United States public and private sectors. One of the largest threats to American business today is global cyber-terrorism which cost nearly $1.8 billion in 2019 and saw

The Threat and Severity of Cyber Attack has Increased as Technology Evolves Over the last several years, changing technology has improved the quality and efficiency of our lives, both online and offline. Some recently introduced “online” technologies include artificial intelligence integrations to websites, cryptocurrency, and comprehensive cloud computing. These technologies underpin the digital infrastructure that has allowed banking and commerce to live entirely on the web for the first time

The Threat and Severity of Cyber Attack has Increased as Technology Evolves Over the last several years, changing technology has improved the quality and efficiency of our lives, both online and offline. Some recently introduced “online” technologies include artificial intelligence integration to websites, cryptocurrency, and comprehensive cloud computing. These technologies underpin the digital infrastructure that has allowed banking and commerce to live fully on the web for the first time in

How to avoid a social engineering and phishing attack? Social engineering is a specific kind of cyber security attack where the attacker relies on human interaction to gain access to an organization’s sensitive information or infrastructure with the intention of doing harm from within. The attacker may appear friendly or unassuming, typically relying on normal social convention and common courtesy to gain the trust and bend the will of their victim. These attacks range in scale and quality a

The average cost of a cyber attack jumped to a record high of $4.52 million per incident in 2021. While security protocols and procedures remain important, a comprehensive cyber insurance policy for your business is still the safest and most reliable way to fully mitigate financial loss from a cyber attack. Obtaining a cyber insurance policy can be complicated with a wide variety of options and considerations for both the insured and insurer. When a U.S.-based organization wants to purchase cy

Over the last several years, cyber attacks have grown both in scale and complexity with global ransomware incidents alone increasing by a record 105% in 2021. As more businesses move online and cyber attackers become more sophisticated, we anticipate that the incident rate will continue to

Cyber Extortion occurs when someone holds business operations hostage and demands a ransom. It is a form of crime, and it is becoming extremely common to the point of being one of the main drivers of cyber insurance claims. There are two main types of cyber extortion, ransomware and DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service). Ransomware, in particular, is growing in popularity right now as companies continue to pay ransoms to unlock their systems. What is a Ransomware Attack? Ransomware en

Here’s the deal: there is no business too small to interest cyber thieves. Sadly, your business is at risk if you have even a single computer connected to the internet. According to a recent SBA survey, 88% of small business owners suspect their business is vulnerable to a cyber threat (malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing). And they’re right. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting small businesses knowing they have fewer resources to invest in cyber security. Small businesses also ar

What is this coverage? In our digital age, businesses can be knocked offline for weeks in the event they suffer a cyber attack.  Considering the combined losses of unearned revenue and continued expenses (e.g. payroll), it should be no surprise that many businesses go bankrupt after serious cyber events. As such, a cyber policy’s Business Interruption coverage is critical to cashflow-dependent businesses given it indemnifies them for the lost revenues that they need to cover their costs. What

Bricking coverage indemnifies the insured for hardware rendered unusable due to a cyber event. When hardware is corrupted to the point that it no longer functions, it is commonly referred to as a “brick” . There are a variety of things that can turn hardware into a “brick”, one of the most common examples are changes to firmware (the software that enables computers to operate at their most basic level). Bricking coverage only applies in the event hardware is damaged due to a cyber event. That

What are the PCI / DSS standards? The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) are a set of security rules and practices governing payment account data. They were established in 2006 by major payment processors (including MasterCard, Visa, and American Express) to protect their users’ payment data and prevent fraud. PCI standards are extremely important because they are both very effective at reducing payments fraud, and non-compliance with them can be very expensive. A paymen

Organizations face a plethora of regulations regarding IT and data storage practices. In a constantly changing regulatory environment, it is often difficult for organizations to keep up with new guidelines. When regulators find that organizations have violated one of these rules, they can assess large fees that can severely impact corporate balance sheets. Regulatory liability coverage steps in to soften the blow and cover the expenses, including any required legal fees. Trends in Cyber Regulat

Network Security and Privacy Liability Storing electronic data allows an organization to keep a detailed record of its interactions with customers and employees. This enables businesses to provide important value-added services that build long term customer relationships. All data, even if securely stored, runs the risk of being compromised. A compromise, or “breach,” occurs when an unauthorized third party gets access to confidential information or systems. When breaches occur, businesses stan

Invoice Manipulation occurs when fraudulent payment instructions are sent to a third party as a direct result of a security or a data breach. To catch these incidents, organizations have to scrupulously monitor their transactions, which is a major investment of both time and resources. Even organizations with extensive supervision could fall victim to this kind of attack. How Does Invoice Manipulation Happen? Often, hackers find their way into an insured’s account by phishing (using fake emails