The insurance policies a business chooses is based on their specific business model. What works for one business may not work for another. One policy, however, lives as a baseline policy all businesses should have- cyber insurance. 

This rings true, especially in light of today’s tech-reliant world. Even businesses that do not operate online are not free from the dangers of a cyber attack. 

Furthermore, recent events regarding the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War have the potential to impact all businesses and their cyber security in the United States. Cyber security risks are escalating, so let’s discuss more why even non-online businesses should invest in cyber insurance.

do all businesses need cyber insurance? 

Yes. All businesses need cyber insurance regardless of business type—especially in today’s digital environment. 

Even if your business is not an online business, cyber insurance helps mitigate risk. Cyber-attacks occur regularly (every 11 seconds in 2021), and can target individuals and businesses alike. No one is safe from the threat of a cyber attack – no matter the business model. 

Typically, attackers use the following tactics in a cyberattack:

• Phishing 
• Compromised/stolen devices
• Credential theft 

General and professional liabilities may include basic cyber liability coverage, however, businesses that store personally identifiable information or any sensitive information for employees and customers should seek out further coverage. 

Data your business has (i.e. phone numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and more) puts any business at risk for an attack.  

A report by Nerdwallet, “​​Among small businesses with fewer than 250 employees, the average reported cyberattack cost was about $25,600.”

Consider the following cyber attack statistics below before dismissing a cyber security policy for your business. 

• Cybercriminals can penetrate 93% of company networks
• In 2021, businesses suffered 50% more cyberattack attempts per week
• Corporate cyber attacks increased by 50%
• Small to medium-sized businesses are most commonly targetted   
• 43% of cyber-attacks are targeted against small businesses 
• 83% of small businesses are not financially prepared for a cyber attack

The threat of a data breach is here to stay. We here at benchmark have first-hand experience with what cyber attacks look like, and what to do to keep your business safe. Read on to learn how we mitigated a cyber attack against our vendor’s business. 

benchmark case story

A few years ago, our data vendor’s cloud server was hacked.  All of the vendor’s “mission-critical” information stored in the Cloud was breached (i.e. email servers, client databases, and more)- that included our sensitive information and the information of their other clients. 

The hacker asked for a ransom to not share all of the data and to return the data back to our vendor. 

Luckily, because the vendor had benchmark’s cyber insurance coverage, our office and all of the vendor’s clients came out unscathed. The cyber insurance covered the entire ransom the hacker was asking for– which meant our vendor was able to keep their data safe and unharmed. 

Our cyber insurance policy coverage protected our vendor, our business, and their clients from leaking private information. It also kept the vendor in business so they wouldn’t go bankrupt from paying the hacker’s ransom out of pocket. 

Read our next blog post for a complete guide to cyber insurance and why you need it.