Between 2018 and 2021, there was a significant increase in cyberattacks for businesses in all verticals. The most notable cyberattacks, and those resulting in the most claims, were extortion. In most instances, a victim company is locked out of their data or system and must pay to regain access, and these sums can amount to thousands or even millions of dollars. Businesses can take preventive measures to address extortion attacks by ensuring they have the right cyber insurance coverage.

Cyber Attack, Cyber insurance

The cost of an extortion claim goes well beyond the pay-off because dealing with this type of attack can impact operations, revenue, hardware, and company reputation for years to come. Our insurance specialists have experience successfully negotiating down the increasing costs associated with the rising demand for cyber insurance – in addition to implementing improved coverage for many clients. As your business considers this vital protection, we‘ve compiled a list of our top recommendations for approaching renewals in 2022 and beyond. (Pro-tip: if your IT provider can‘t offer the first three recommendations on our list, you‘re not getting the most out of your IT-services contract. We can help with that too!)

Our Top 8 Recommendations

1. MFA for remote access, email access, and administrative access

2. Email filtering solution

3. Segregated backups, secured w/ MFA, 3-2-1 rule
(Three different backups on two different kinds of media with at least one offline)

4. Employee cyber security/phishing training and testing

5. Least-privileged access to PII/PHI

6. Data encryption, including mobile device encryption and backup encryption

7. Endpoint detection and response (Carbon Black, Cisco AMP, Crowdstrike, SentinelOne)

8. OOBA (Out of Band Authentication)

We recommend sharing our list with your IT team to ensure your provider meets the requirements. Our team can also help you prepare for the next renewal. Contact us today to learn more!

About the Authors: 

Andrea Luoni has more than 36 years of experience in the insurance industry, including 27 years as the CEO and founder of a consulting service specializing in insurance and coverage negotiations.

 

Tom Frank is a principal consultant who specializes in health and employee benefits insurance, as well as property, liability, and workers’ compensation insurance coverage.