LARGE or small, no business is immune to the threat of cyber criminals. With an ever-increasing reliance on technology, the consequences of a cyber-attack range from temporarily putting a business out of action to financially destroying it.

Business owners often have the misconception that they are adequately protected by a traditional insurance programme; their IT security system; and contractual agreements with third party providers

This is rarely the case and irrespective of any of the above, it does not afford the business any proactive assistance in the event of a critical cyber incident.

A cyber insurance policy however provides so much more than just insurance, a good cyber insurance policy will also provide a wide range of additional support including:

• 24/7 access to IT forensics, Data breach/Legal experts and Public Relations advisers, to provide support in the event of an actual or suspected cyber Incident - rapid response to an incident is essential to mitigate losses and potential litigation from third parties

• Support in complying with Data Protection Legislation and Notification obligations in the event of a data breach

• Data restoration and rectification – even back-ups can be affected.

• Access to specialist ransom and extortion advisors

• Access to cyber risk management tools

In addition, cover under a Cyber policy can include (but is not limited to):

• Loss of profits as a result of a cyber incident

• Legal liability as a result of a Breach of Personal Data/Confidential information

• Inadvertent breach of intellectual property rights via Cybermedia

• Financial loss following a Social Engineering attack such as phishing scams

At D E Ford Insurance Brokers we have expertise in tailoring cyber insurance solutions to individual business requirements.

John Goodacre is Commercial Account Executive at D E Ford Insurance Brokers, offering insurance solutions for commercial and charitable organisations