The world of cyber risk management is fluid and fast moving. We work hard to keep up so that our customers can too.
One thing that has not changed is that data is power. The value of data is the driving force behind cyber criminals and their successes in obtaining this data is not slowing down. In the first 9 months of 2019 there were 5,183 breaches world-wide with an astounding 7.9 billion data records exposed. This is a 33% increase on 2018 and we can expect this trend to continue. With this in mind it is important to understand your position within your supply chain as a data owner or data process and how to protect your customers and reputation.
Another thing which has remained consistent is the use of phishing as one of the primary modes of attack. According to the Bulletproof Annual Cyber Report 3.4 billion phishing emails sent daily and there are 182,465 phishing websites. It is important to note that these are not the phishing attacks of 15 years ago. They are sophisticated and targeted. This is why staff training is absolutely vital. A business is only as strong as its weakest link.
As an SME you may feel like you are immune to these concerns but attacks against SMEs went up by 243% in 2019. You can also expect up to 4,000 malicious log in attempts per month. Cyber criminals are no longer just looking for one big score. They are able to build a career on extorting small amounts of money from a volume of businesses without causing a rumble in the media or even in the industry as victims works to keep things hushed. Cyber criminals know the money to be made by targeting low hanging fruit.
60% of SMEs fold within 6 months of a cyber incident. Could you be among them? Do you have an incident response plan? Has this been tested? Do you know how insurance could assist with costs and investigations associated with this? These are all questions we can help you address.
There is also a growing frontier of threat in devices we do not even consider part of our cyber footprint. Smart devices may be convenient but can offer a vulnerable entry point into your network. In late 2018/early 2019 the number IOT connected items surpassed the population of the world at 7.5 billion. These numbers are likely triple by 2021. Can you afford to ignore this threat?
Even with the best procedures and training in place mistakes can happen and incidents can occur over which you have no control. According to a recent survey by Gallaghers 39% of businesses said that cyber ranks amongst their biggest concerns. In spite of this 80% of UK firms do not have specialist cyber insurance . We are on a mission to change perceptions of this adaptive and cost effective cover. We can give you an understanding of your exposures in the changing threat landscape and how it affects your business beyond just the technical jargon.
To keep yourself one step ahead of the cyber criminals please contact one of our cyber risk management specialists.
