Energy On The Offensive #046 - Cyber Crimes: What Could Hold Your Business Ransom?

Happy New Year!

A client called me on Monday to discuss what his cyber coverages are. A buddy of his who owns a GM dealership was on vacation when his general manager called and told him they have been hacked, their computer systems are down, and the hacker is demanding a ransom.

Cyber crimes are more common than you realize and affect businesses of all shapes and sizes. Even if you don’t have an extensive computer system, you can be hit with other cyber crimes, such as funds transfer fraud. Imagine your accounts payable team member’s email is hacked without his/her knowledge. The hacker starts intercepting payment invoices from your vendors and changing the ACH info or payment details. This goes on for 30-60 days until your actual vendors start calling and asking why they haven’t been paid. You still owe your vendors, but the hacker is gone with the money.

What You Can Do:

• Tighten your cyber security practices. Have your IT company implement MFA (multi-factor authentication) across all technology platforms within your company.

• Ensure your accounting department has security practices and procedures to verify payment instructions.

• Buy cyber liability insurance to cover your business if your computer systems are compromised or if you’re hit with a funds transfer fraud. One additional benefit is the cyber insurance company will deploy their experts to help deal with getting your systems back online and negotiating with the hacker. You won’t be left to figure it out on your own.

Reply to this email if you would like to see what cyber liability insurance would cost for your business or get a second opinion on the coverage you currently have in place.