Accentuated by the health context, cyberattacks are increasingly regular and feared by companies.
And this, regardless of their size (VSE, SME, or large group). Indeed, no one is immune to a criminal attack, and the consequences of the latter can be economically and socially disastrous.
It is, therefore, essential to protect yourself against the risk of attacks if you want to gain peace of mind and competitiveness in the market.
Signing up for cyber insurance is one of the solutions available to you. How does this insurance contract work? What does it cover, and how do you include it in your business strategy? Decryption.
Cyber risks for businesses:
Four types of risk
Cyber risks attack a company’s information system and computer system. There are four types of cyber threats that can directly or indirectly affect companies:
- cybercrime (obtaining personal information to exploit or resell it)
- image damage (damage to the image of the victim by replacing the content with political or religious claims, etc.)
- espionage (capturing strategic information for economic, political, or scientific purposes)
- sabotage (making all or part of an information system inoperative)
Cyber risks concern all companies: large groups, VSEs, SMEs, and ETIs. And none of them are safe. Most of these structures store their data or use new technologies as part of their activity. And it is precisely this information system that is the potential target of cybercriminals.
- Support 7 days a week, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Unlimited site interventions
- Unlimited hotline and remote maintenance
- A team dedicated to your account
- Proactive monitoring of IT assets 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- Installation of new stations included
- Professional antivirus included
- Advice and follow-up by our specialized engineers
The most frequent attacks
Here are the two most common attacks against French companies:
- Ransomware (or ransomware): these attacks involve exploiting a computer flaw to paralyze a system. The hackers then demand a ransom from the company for a decryption key.
- Phishing: the most common attack vector, it consists of tricking users into communicating sensitive data, such as passwords or bank details.
Since the global coronavirus pandemic and the generalization of teleworking, the number of threats has continued to increase.
Due to this expansion, companies are keen to invest in IT security. The figures from the annual CESIN barometer reveal that 43% of companies would be ready to increase their budgets to deal with these hazards.
Understand the world of cyber insurance
What is Cyber Insurance?
Cyber insurance, also known as cybersecurity insurance, is a contract between a company and an insurer.
His role? Minimize losses caused by a cyberattack or other IT incidents. Concretely, the insurance company helps maintain its activity during and after the incident and covers the financial losses.
Beware, as the UK’s National Cybersecurity Center asserts, taking out a cyber insurance policy does not prevent a company from being attacked.
On the other hand, it makes it possible to better cope with the consequences of potential attacks by limiting the damage.
What costs are covered by cyber insurance?
Cybersecurity insurance covers the costs of security failures that relate to:
- the recovery of personal data
- legal costs
- customer compensation
- digital forensic investigation of computer systems
Cyber insurance: advantages and limits
Advantages:
Protect yourself from attacks according to YOUR needs
A company that has adequately targeted the types of potential threats and has mastered its environment can use cyber insurance as an additional opportunity to preserve the integrity of its data.
Indeed, a company that is aware of the cyberattacks to which it is exposed will be able to take out the cyber insurance that best suits its needs because the whole point of cyber security insurance lies in covering potential damage.
The guarantees of the contract are, therefore, different from one company to another since they are adapted to the context and profile of each organization.
Specific sectors, such as healthcare or finance, will therefore have more incentive to take out sophisticated cyber insurance due to the confidential and sensitive information stored and processed.
Benefit from assistance and expertise:
By subscribing to a cyber insurance policy, you benefit from assistance that helps you identify the origin of an attack and deploy the appropriate measures to limit the risks. In addition, the insurance company provides the company with its expertise by analyzing the damage suffered.
The company that chooses to take out cybersecurity insurance can then benefit from the following advantages:
- Payment of miscellaneous IT intervention costs.
- Data restoration.
- Compensation for financial losses.
- Possible payment of the ransom against the recovery of the data.
Limits:
Unfortunately, not all cyber risks are covered by insurance. Therefore, neither the financial damage caused by the loss of intellectual property nor the impacts caused by a bad reputation can be covered.
Thus, a company that is the victim of a cyberattack and whose image would be tarnished will not be able to call on its insurance to offset the costs linked to the loss of customers and the loss of markets.
Also, to get good coverage, insurance companies want to be sure that they company has concrete cybersecurity measures in place.
This may include password management, antivirus installation, staff awareness, etc. Therefore, insuring against cyber risk is tricky for small and medium-sized businesses.
Finally, if taking out cyber insurance can save a company in certain situations, it is not THE miracle solution. And for a good reason, cyber insurance does not prevent the risk of attacks.
It is, therefore, the responsibility of each company to ensure its cybersecurity before moving to insurance.
How to include cyber insurance in your IT strategy?
For Jacques IZART, co-manager of the firm Assurwest, it is necessary to build a strategy based on solid prevention and protection measures.
And since it is evident that no information system is neither inviolable nor infallible, the residual risks can be transferred by taking out insurance.
Preventive measures:
Preventive measures can significantly reduce the risk of cyberattacks. These preventative actions include:
- Strengthening authentication through the MFA (multi-factor authentication) process: This tool supports user access rights for security reasons. MFA can be applied to applications, VPN access as well as messaging.
- Employee awareness: this involves the distribution of prevention documents and regular communications to staff. They can take the form of guides or information notes. The training also contributes to a better knowledge of the subject and thus to better resilience.
- Simulations and preparation: intrusion tests are beneficial for adopting the best reflexes and being immersed in a situation close to the incident. On the other hand, practice makes it possible to imagine possible incident scenarios and anticipate an effective action plan to counter them.
- Backing up your information system: even if it is considered tedious for many companies, backing up data is necessary. According to the Veeam Data Protection Report 2021 study, 6 out of 10 backups (58%) would fail! Results? The information is left unprotected and at the disposal of cyber criminals. A central asset of an organization, data loss can be irreversible in the event of a cyberattack.
Subscribe to cyber insurance
Within an organization, the subscription to cyber insurance must complement the preventive actions aimed at protecting the integrity of the IS.
Faced with the exponential rise of cyber risks, the role of insurers is now evolving in the direction of an advisory role.
The world of cyber insurance tends towards supporting companies: defining together the best strategy to protect their systems and ensure their sustainability!
