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Cyber liability insurance

Will you be able to surf the cyber crime wave?

The development of the internet, computer networks and their rapid expansion into most areas of commerce has created a truly global business community. It has not only revolutionised the way companies and individuals communicate, but has fundamentally changed the nature of the way they do business. Whether paying our bills or social networking, we interact with technology everyday. Our dependency on Information Technology & Communication systems is such that many companies would now be unable to operate without them. The pace of technological growth has been steadily increasing and with it the number of criminal organisations and individuals with criminal intent have seen the opportunity for financial gain.

So what is cyber crime?

The term “cyber crime” is misleading, it doesn't directly refer to criminal activity, but a medium so that more traditional crime can be committed (such as fraud, theft, blackmail, forgery and embezzlement) in which computers are used to facilitate crime.

Why should I worry?

In most small and medium sized businesses responsibilities for data control under the Data Protection Act lies with the owner or Managing Director. The loss of personal or customer data can bring significant financial loss and or prosecution. Any attacks could also significantly impair the companies’ ability to operate.

Three simple steps for protecting you and your business

Towergate Milton Keynes suggests that there are a number of risk management and risk transfer strategies you can undertake to minimise your exposure, for example:

1. Identifying and understanding the risks - once you understand your exposure you can put in place a business security plan, encrypt your sensitive data, secure and hide wireless networks, install and maintain anti-virus software, ensure you have firewalls, restrict employee usage to non business related websites and carry out daily backups of data.
2. Planning ahead – the process of Business Continuity Planning (BCP) identifies potential threats to the business, evaluates these and determines the action required to minimise the effect that such losses may have on a business. A viable BCP will also ensure that staff, customers and suppliers are reassured that there are effective policies and practices in place to manage the unexpected.
3. Risk Transfer – Many traditional liability and business interruption insurance products do not address the full range of exposures and the risks associated with e-commerce and the internet. However insurance products are available to offset your cyber liability, they can break the cover down into first party (you) and third party (everyone else) financial losses. First party protection covers your businesses from network interruption to your company’s own computer systems which cause you a business interruption loss. Third party exposure involves financial risk relating to personal or confidential information contained on your systems.

Cyber liability insurance seeks to cover a wide range of risks including*:

*Cover based on Dataguard plus product available from Towergate Risk Solutions underwritten by ACE.

For more information on protecting yourself online visit the government sponsored http://www.getsafeonline.org/ website or contact us, our staff are available to take your call on 0844 892 0960.

• Credit insurance
• Directors & Officers liability
• Professional indemnity

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