At RiskBox, our clients generally value the advice we give, so when we explain why Cyber & Data insurance is crucial, they take heed. As a result, almost all of our clients will have received a Cyber & Data quote over the last few years – and a high proportion now have this protection in place.

However, despite us recommending it as a key policy for every type of business – and providing quotes as common practice – not all will take the cover. Here, we share a recent example of a client who decided not to purchase Cyber & Data insurance, and the impact that had on their business.

The suspicious link

The client in question works in the hospitality sector, and had been in a financially precarious position since the start of the pandemic. They’d recently renewed their main commercial combined insurance, and had been sent an invoice with a premium to be paid.

A couple of weeks later, we received an email from the insured’s correct email address, purporting to show confirmation of the paid invoice. With the timing of the email, and the address being correct, we imagine many people would have just clicked the link. Fortunately, we didn’t.

We called the company to confirm if the email was genuine. It turns out, it wasn’t – the client admitted they’d been hacked and that we shouldn’t open the link.

The impact on the business

Rather than being able to focus on their business, the unfortunate client is now making and taking embarrassing phone calls from concerned suppliers. They’re also having to engage their IT provider (at their own cost) to investigate what happened, what was affected, what data might have been compromised, and what their obligations are to the ICO.

Added to that, they’re worried about the potential fallout from suppliers who’ve understandably lost confidence, or may even be considering legal action for the financial losses caused by this.

The key takeaways

We’ve worked in Cyber insurance for many years, so we’ve seen enough incidents and claims to know that this is often how malware infects networks and systems. Here are our two pieces of advice:

1. If you ever receive an unusual link, even if the timing feels like it might be genuine, take the extra step to check. That small inconvenience can prevent months of hassle, not to mention the financial effects.

2. Cyber & Data cover isn’t just for traditional digital businesses, it’s for all businesses, as everyone uses IT and works with email. Whilst data exposures may not always be massive for some, that doesn’t stop the potential impact of a huge cyber incident.

Speak to RiskBox

Are you ready to take out Cyber & Data protection but want to know more about what this entails? Speak to one of our trusted professionals. At RiskBox, our team of insurance specialists are here to help, and can work with you to decide what type of cover your business needs.

Get in touch with us today by calling 0161 533 0411 or filling in our online contact form.

Photo by Mediocre Studio on Unsplash