If you run a small business and rely heavily on email communications, you may not have bothered much with robust email security. After all, who wants to target a small business? Surely, it’s the banks who need this type of protection.
Wrong.
Financial services and other large companies have vast IT budgets and entire departments as well as outside contractors whose job it is to protect company data and prevent security breaches. As a result, scammers have decided to move onto lower-hanging fruit…your company. And chances are good that you’re not prepared to pay the financial price of a data breach. Research by Acronis found that threats from phishing and malicious emails have increased by 60 percent in recent years and the average cost of a data breach is now approximately $5 million.
The Weakest Link
Who is the weakest security link in your company? You know…that person who will click on an attachment no matter how dubious the source is and insists on opening every spam message. Even if cyber criminals do not actively attack you, careless handling of data and poor email security can lead to unauthorized information winding up in emails or on cloud-based platforms, which makes it ripe for the picking by either organized cybercriminals or lone opportunistic thieves.
Does Insurance Cover the Costs of Data Breaches?
The answer is yes, but only if you have a dedicated cyber liability insurance policy. Cyber liability coverage is different from general liability insurance, which covers your business and employees when your product or service results in injury or property damage. Cyber insurance is generally not part of your general liability insurance but instead needs to be purchased as an addition to your policy.
Is Your Email Security Robust Enough?
If your employees are using unencrypted email with no security and no spam firewalls, you are opening yourself to considerable business risk. Email security is critical for small businesses because malicious email messages are a popular choice for scammers and thieves today. Unencrypted email exposes you to significant risk for ransomware, spyware, worms, malware, social engineering attacks like phishing or spear phishing emails, and other cyber threats. In addition, proper email encryption will help guard important data like customer account numbers, credit card numbers, and other financial data. It’s important to remember that data breaches don’t only harm your business, they harm your customers and can quickly trash your company reputation, not to mention opening you up to liability or regulatory fines over lost data.
The cybercriminals are out there. A study by Digital in the Round determined that 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent out globally each day, which is why businesses – even small businesses – need a multi-layered approach to their email security solution. Email security can detect and filter out suspicious emails and block malicious attachments to protect employees from clicking on harmful content that will give cyber-criminals a way into your business.
Do a Health-Check on Your Business Insurance
To be sure that your business insurance policy covers the possibility of data theft or other types of cyberattacks, ensure that your policy is up to date. In Connecticut, Petruzelo Insurance offers personal and business policies that fit your needs and protect your home and business. Call us at 866-479-3327 or visit our website for more information.