Getting the right cyber insurance coverage is more important than ever. With rising premiums and lower policy limits, firms need help to obtain adequate coverage. For many businesses, implementing better identity security controls is key to qualifying for coverage next year. It is especially true as insurers adjust their approach to risk after years of underperforming losses.
Implement Continuous Monitoring
Continuous monitoring is crucial to the IT landscape, alerting teams to events that call for instant reactions or responses. This lightning-fast warning network can help companies minimize downtime and protect revenue, customer loyalty, brand integrity, and employee morale. However, implementing continuous monitoring requires both human planning and analysis and technology. Because humans can’t be “on” 24/7, and even if they could, the amount of data they would have to pore over to evaluate the security status of every third party with whom a business works would be impractical.
In addition, hackers create fresh zero-day flaws every day, and researchers often update the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Database (CVE) with information like password leaks and other types of exposed data. Traditional security controls and penetration testing alone are no longer sufficient. Implementing a continuous monitoring system can be challenging, but it is essential to preventing most cyber attacks and meeting regulatory compliance requirements. The best way to start is by identifying the main monitoring surfaces that need to be monitored, determining the main regulations you must remain compliant with within your industry, and establishing what types of events are most critical to watch for. Finally, choosing the right tool for continuous monitoring is crucial to success. Look for a solution with broad industry adoption and clear, easy-to-understand real-time ratings to important non-technical stakeholders. Your firm may still be liable for any sensitive information lost due to a cyber risk incident, even though different tools and solutions in your cybersecurity platform can assist in safeguarding your business and stopping these breaches from happening. With cyber insurance, the company’s responsibility to cover any losses, including a ransomware settlement resulting from a cybersecurity assault, is reduced, which lessens the financial ramifications should the unthinkable happen. Consider it a possible alternative to reduce the growing cyber risk associated with conducting business online.
Invest in Endpoint Security
With more and more data breaches and cyber-attacks occurring than ever before, experts like Fortinet are advising that in order to avoid paying costly ransomware settlements, businesses need to keep their assets protected. It includes implementing strong cybersecurity measures and investing in cyber insurance. However, it’s important to note that cyber insurance is not a substitute for your company’s security infrastructure. It is designed to mitigate financial risks from unforeseen events such as cyberattacks, hardware failures and disasters. As more employees work remotely and embrace BYOD policies, organisations must protect an increasing number of devices and endpoints. The average business network comprises several instruments, including laptops, tablets and smartphones. With the advent of IoT, these devices have increased in number and variety, creating more vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. It has also made it more difficult to safeguard assets with traditional perimeter security. Many insurance providers now require companies seeking coverage to implement an endpoint security platform that detects threats and neutralizes them in real-time, whether on or off the network. This software is designed to stop attackers before they can access critical systems or cause damage.
Upgrade Your Servers
In addition to PII, insurers will also look for strong systems to prevent attacks from happening in the first place. For example, if your business has outdated servers or software that is vulnerable to attack, upgrading your system may help you qualify for better coverage in the future. For companies seeking a cyber insurance policy, working with your broker to determine how much protection you want and which coverage types will best suit your needs is important. You also need to understand what your current policies cover, such as property, liability, fidelity and more, because these can be impacted by the coverage you add for cyber.
As we head into 2023, many insurance professionals predict that the market for cyber insurance will continue to tighten up. It is largely due to an increased cost of premiums and the fact that insurers are losing money in their cyber insurance business. Insurers are also facing more risk as the frequency of ransomware and other cyberattacks increases, with some reducing how much they will write or pulling out of this area altogether.
Consider Multi-Factor Authentication
Companies turn to insurance to mitigate losses as cyber-attacks and data breaches become widespread. Like homeowners or auto insurance, cyber insurance protects businesses from financial losses from a cyber attack. However, as with other types of insurance, it is not a one size fits all option. G premiums can vary dramatically depending on the type of business and the associated risk. Due to large-scale cyberattacks, insurance carriers are increasing their requirements for companies seeking coverage. Many insurers now require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) as part of a policy’s terms and conditions. MFA is a security feature that gives systems and applications an additional layer of protection by requiring more than simply a login and password to access an account. MFA involves something you know (like a password), something you have (like a keychain or smartphone) and something you are (like a fingerprint or facial recognition).
This additional security measure is required to guarantee that only the intended user may access an account. It can also help protect sensitive information from unauthorized access. By implementing MFA for privileged accounts, companies can improve their cybersecurity posture and meet the requirements of most top cyber insurance policies. It can be crucial in mitigating residual risks and improving the chances of being approved for a policy.
