Did you know that data breaches cost businesses over R80 million last year and that more than 235 million ransomware attacks took place?

In today’s interconnected world, where businesses heavily rely on digital infrastructure, the threat of cybercrime looms large. Companies are increasingly exposed to a wide range of cyber risks, from data breaches and ransomware attacks to social engineering and phishing scams. 

As technology rapidly evolves, so does the sophistication of cybercriminals. This makes it vital for businesses to prioritise their cybersecurity measures. One powerful tool in their arsenal is cyber insurance. Why? Cyber insurance provides an important safety net against the financial implications and the overall effects of cyber incidents. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of having sufficient cyber insurance in South Africa in place and how it can mitigate the risks associated with cybercrime.

Understanding Cybercrime

We’ve all heard the term before, but do you know what it really is? 

Cybercrime encompasses a multitude of threats that target businesses of all sizes, across various industries. Understanding the types of cybercrime is key to truly understanding the need for comprehensive insurance cover. 

Here’s a few common cyber threats that you need to be aware of:

• Data Breaches

Unauthorised access to sensitive customer information can have severe repercussions, including financial loss, legal consequences, and reputational damage. If you were to do a quick Google search you’d find plenty of cases where large organisations were hacked and had a significant amount of their data stolen.

• Ransomware Attacks

This is where malicious software encrypts a company’s data, rendering it inaccessible until a ransom is paid. These attacks can cause significant disruption to business operations and lead to substantial financial losses. 

• Phishing and Social Engineering

In this type of cybercrime, cybercriminals employ deceptive tactics to manipulate employees into disclosing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data. This is why it’s vital to educate your staff about cybercrime risks and apply best practice in online user behaviour.

• Business Email Compromise (BEC)

This form of fraud involves impersonating executives or business partners to deceive employees into making unauthorised payments or divulging sensitive information. Often employees will receive an email from the ‘CEO’ or someone in management requesting something urgently, but the reality is that there is sinister work at play.

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

Here, cybercriminals overload a company’s network or website, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users. DDoS attacks can result in substantial downtime and financial losses.

• Malware Infections

Malicious software, such as viruses or trojans, can infiltrate a company’s system, compromising data integrity and disrupting operations. The end result can be significant financial losses, reputational damage, and potential legal consequences. Malware infections pose a serious threat to the confidentiality, availability, and overall security of an organisation’s sensitive information.

These are just some of the ways cyber criminals target businesses and organisations.

The Importance of Cyber Insurance

Okay, so we’ve covered a few of the typical ways in which cyber criminals act. Now, let’s talk about the importance of having cyber insurance in place.

Here’s why you should consider such cover for your business.

Financial Protection

First and foremost, cyber insurance safeguards your business by providing financial protection against the costs associated with a cyber incident. The last thing you want is for your business to be hit by cybercrime and be without sufficient cover. This coverage can include expenses for legal services, forensic investigations, data restoration, notification and credit monitoring for affected individuals, and potential regulatory fines.

Business Continuity

A cyber incident can lead to severe disruptions. This includes temporary shutdowns and loss of customer trust. Cyber insurance can help cover the costs of business interruption, allowing you to resume operations swiftly.

Reputation Management

The aftermath of a cyber incident can tarnish your company’s reputation. Cyber insurance can provide resources for public relations and crisis management, helping you restore trust and demonstrate your commitment to protecting customer data.

Compliance Support

Cyber insurance policies often assist in meeting legal and regulatory obligations by covering expenses related to data breach notifications, legal settlements, or fines resulting from non-compliance.

Choosing the Right Cyber Insurance Coverage

Not all cyber insurance policies are created equal, and selecting the right cover for your business is important. Here are a few key factors to consider:

• Policy Limits: Make sure that the coverage limits adequately align with your organisation’s size, industry, and potential exposure to cyber risks.
• Incident Response Support: Look for policies that offer timely incident response support, including access to forensic experts, legal counsel, and public relations resources.
• Business Interruption Coverage: Assess the extent of coverage for business interruption, including the duration of indemnity, to minimise financial losses during downtime.
• Regulatory Compliance: Verify if the policy covers expenses related to regulatory fines and legal settlements resulting from non-compliance.
• Risk Management Services: Evaluate whether the insurer offers proactive risk management services, such as cybersecurity assessments, employee training, and vulnerability scans.

Educating your staff in the fight against cybercrime

As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and prevalent, it’s important that businesses prioritise cybersecurity education and empower their staff in the fight against cybercrime. To help you, we’ve researched ways in which you can educate your teams with this best practice guide.

Cybercrime best practice guide

1. Use strong passwords! You should encourage your employees to use strong, unique passwords for all their accounts and systems. Passwords should be a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. It’s also a good idea that they update their password from time to time

2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Your staff should enable MFA wherever possible to create an added layer of security. This makes sure that even if passwords are compromised, unauthorised access is prevented.

3. Phishing Awareness: This one is key. Educate your employees about the dangers of phishing emails and how to identify them. Remind them to avoid clicking on suspicious links or providing sensitive information through email. The key here is to reinforce that if there is ever doubt, rather err on the side of caution.

4. Complete Software Updates: They should be regularly updating all software, including operating systems, applications, and security patches. Outdated software can have vulnerabilities that cybercriminals will very quickly exploit.

5. Secure Wi-Fi: With many employees still working remotely, it’s common to work from various locations. They are at risk if they are logging onto public Wi-Fi networks, especially if they are accessing company resources remotely. Remind employees to avoid connecting to public or unsecured networks that may expose sensitive data.

6. Data Backup: It’s important that you share the importance of regularly backing up important data. Encourage employees to follow company protocols for data backup and ensure that backups are stored securely. It’s a good idea to partner with a trusted IT company here that can ensure your systems are all backed up as they should be.

7. Social Media Awareness: Oh look, it’s another cat on TikTok! Remind employees to exercise caution on social media platforms. Sharing too much personal or work-related information can make them vulnerable to social engineering attacks. Should they be spending so much time on social media during office hours anyway??

8. Mobile Device Security: As with their desktop or laptop computers, encourage employees to secure their mobile devices with strong passwords or biometric authentication. They should also consider enabling remote wipe capabilities in case of loss or theft.

Remember, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. By fostering a culture of awareness and best practices, employees become valuable allies in protecting your business against cybercrime.

Cybercrime Cover from Kayser Baird Insurance

At Kayser Baird, we understand the risks that businesses face in an ever-evolving digital world. We also understand the value of your data and IT systems. That’s why we offer cyber insurance that is tailored to your specific business and to your specific needs.

Our cyber insurance policy is ideal for your business if you are looking for protection and cover against: 

• Cyber extortion and malware (viruses, ransomware, or publishing of stolen data).
• Denial of service (disruption to operations).
• Downstream attack (a compromise of your environment resulting in damages to others).
• Hacking.
• Insider and privilege misuse (unauthorised access and use of systems and data by employees and service providers).
• Physical theft and loss (both devices and physical hard copy data).Threats posed by third-party access into a client environment.

With Kayser Baird, you’ll have access to expert knowledge and resources to effectively manage and recover from a cyber incident. This includes:

• IT response costs to understand, mitigate and recover from the incident. 
• Crisis communications and public relations costs, to reduce potential reputational damage and customer churn.
• Notification and remediation services, to prevent affected parties from suffering further damages.

If you’d like to hear more about our cyber insurance cover in South Africa and how we can help protect your business against cybercrime, call our team of experts at +27 31 767 8000 or email us at info@kayserbaird.co.za.

Protect your business against cybercrime today with Kayser Baird Insurance.