Businesses of every size and in nearly every industry are facing increasing cyber risk. Cyber threats that seemed far-fetched for many companies only a few years ago are very real today – as evidenced by the recent WannaCry ransomware attack that spread to over 150 countries last month. Results from the 2017 Cyber Risk Survey indicate that many businesses are not adequately protected and lack the knowledge and resources to prepare for, or respond to, a cyber-related incident.
Have you recently evaluated your cyber exposures?
Over half of the companies surveyed had not discussed cyber insurance with their broker within the last year. Uncovering your company’s cyber exposures and discussing strategies to protect your business should be a high priority. Based on the survey, some of the top common cyber exposures for businesses are:
• Personal devices connected to company network
• Storing/processing customer data
• Storing/processing banking information
• Storing digital employee records
• Processing credit card transactions
Do you have the right cyber insurance coverage in place?
Of the companies surveyed, two-thirds did not have a stand-alone cyber insurance policy. Many businesses wrongly assume that their general liability policy will provide adequate coverage. However, in most cases, cyber liability is excluded from standard commercial general liability policies.
Cyber insurance is not a one-size-fits all solution. It is important to consider your company’s specific exposures and culture to ensure you have the best possible coverage for your business.
How does your company’s stance on cyber risk compare?
Read the complete results from the 2017 Cyber Risk Survey to discover how your company compares to 300+ businesses around the country.
At Scott, we understand the complexities of today’s cyber threats and we help our clients gain the resources – insurance coverage and risk mitigation strategies – to help protect their company in the case of a cyber attack or breach. Contact a Scott Risk Advisor to discuss how we can help your business.
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Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance tends to be one of the most important items that businesses review on an annual basis. At Scott, our clients often ask us to predict how their insurance costs will change each year. While no two businesses are exactly alike and many factors go into the pricing of insurance policies, we can make a number of predictions based on the current state of the insurance market.
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When a technology company was hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack by a hacker who had gained control of one of its critical control panels, it was asked to be paid in exchange for returning control to its operations. The company chose not to comply with the extortionists and instead worked to recover its account by changing passwords. Unfortunately, the hackers had created backup logins to the panel and started randomly deleting files once they saw the company’s actions. This example of cyber extortion, unfortunately, put the company out of business.
Extortion as a result of a cyber attack is becoming more and more common for all business types and sizes. One reason for the increase in incidents is that end-user software like Cryptolocker has commoditized the malware industry, making it accessible to a wider variety of criminals and less-skilled hackers.
Cyber criminals, for the purposes of extortion, can threaten to shut down computer systems or erase data, infect a company with a virus, publish private information or personally identifiable information on customers or employees, institute a denial-of-service attack or take over social media accounts.
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OSHA has issued its final rule on Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems to better protect workers in general industry from slip, trip and fall hazards. The final rule updates and clarifies standards and adds training and inspection requirements. The final rule became effective on January 17, 2017; however, OSHA is allowing delayed or phased-in compliance dates for several requirements in the final rule. States with OSHA-approved state plans have six months to adopt standards that are at least as effective as Federal OSHA standards. Many state plans adopt standards identical to OSHA, but some state plans may have different or more stringent requirements.
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Each year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) releases a list of their “Most Wanted” safety improvements. The 2017-18 list includes several recommended improvements that are directly related to the work of petroleum marketers.
In my experience working with multiple petroleum marketers, I have seen the negative business impacts that a work-related accident or injury can create. Implementing these recommendations from the NTSB can improve your risk performance and, ultimately, your bottom line.
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