Small and medium sized businesses are the most vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Most small and medium enterprises know that risks are part of being in business. The challenge is developing a risk mitigation plan in an environment where technology and threats are evolving daily. Such drastic changes and associated market pressures even led to the CEO of Equifax to jump ship after experiencing one of the largest data breaches in history leaving millions of small and medium sized businesses holding the bag. Holding the bag of what if’s including impact to brand, losing customers due to fraudulent use of data and fear of financial losses.
Industry data says that nearly two-thirds of cyber crimes occur against small and medium sized businesses. And 60% of small businesses go out of business in 6 months after a major cyberattack. This shocking statistic can be turned around with one legitimate solution - cyber liability insurance.
Dave Zamsky, Vice President of Marketing and Business Intelligence for UPS Capital says “Small and medium businesses (SMB’s) play an integral role in the U.S. and world economies. There are rapidly growing issues in the world and finding solutions to help SMB’s is UPS’s primary focus.”
UPS Capital recently launched a cyber insurance service to help reduce financial risks of small and medium sized businesses. This service is unique as it offers a broad coverage with full policy limits to include first and third-party liability coverage.
While cyber liability insurance is a new concept to most SMB’s, Dave Zamsky notes that UPS Capital helps educate small businesses on three primary components. They are as follows:
- Anticipate - Stay informed, know system weaknesses and ways to counter cyber risks
- Prevent – Have a scenario plan to protect business
- Response – Know what to do if something happens including leveraging cyber insurance policy
In conclusion
Being in business is tough. A hurricane knocks your business out for weeks. Unprecedented flooding wipes out communities and your customer base, and a huge data breach threatens your existence are a few problems that many small businesses have encountered this year. And while you do not have control over the weather or changes in technology, as small business, you do have control over how you plan to mitigate and respond to risks. And cyber insurance is one such tool that is worthwhile considering as solid protection.
Do you have any suggestions for SMB’s to minimize threats and liabilities against cyberattacks? I love to hear them so I can share with other business owners.
About the author: Helen Callier, President of Bradlink LLC, an SBA award winning small business, is the author of bestselling ‘Your Money is in the Follow up’, The Why, When, Where, Who, What, and How to Follow up Guide for Small Businesses. Helen is also a recognized advocate for small businesses and speaks nationally to small business audiences on practical tips on how to drive your small business vehicle to success. Helen is a native of Houston, Texas and has a goal to speak to 1 million small businesses over the next 5 years at conferences, online and other platforms.
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