Today Cybercrimes is emerging as one of the top risks faced by companies globally. Confidential Data of millions of customers have been leaked online.
A Study by Ponemon Institute in 2020 estimated that the cost of a data breach incident reached $3.83 million. This cost of data breach incidents has been rising in the recent years and a report by cybersecurity ventures has claimed that cybercrime costs would grow to $10.5 trillion by 2025. Cybercriminals have been adapting their methods regularly. Cybercrimes are increasing in frequency as well magnitude.
Companies across the globe have been targeted by cyberattacks and have been victims of Cybercrimes. In fact, the CoVID Pandemic gave a major boost to cybercrimes as businesses shifted to work from home model, and the security on home laptops and PCs was lax.
The net effect of all this is that the targeted businesses are suffering from serious impact to their businesses.
Cyberattacks or Cybercrimes comprises various incidents such as data breach to fraudulent fund transfer. A Cyberattack is essentially any form of malicious activity conducted against a company’s IT Infrastructure by exploiting loopholes or security lapses in their network.
In this article, we attempt to highlight the evolving scenario for cyberattacks and cybercrimes and how businesses can protect themselves from various cyberrisks with a Cyber Insurance Policy.
What is the cost of Cybercrime Incident?
A study conducted by Accenture revealed that the average number of security breach incidents increased from 130 incidents in 2017 to 145 incidents in 2018. In the same study, Accenture also pointed out that the total cost of cybercrime for each company increased from $11.7 million in 2017 to a new high of $13.0 million.
The major costs of cyberattacks are borne by small and medium sized businesses. Small and Medium Sized businesses did not believe in protecting themselves from Cyberattacks in the mistaken belief that Cyberattacks targeted big companies only. However, many cyber-criminals now target small companies since they are an attractive target due to their weak cyber cybersecurity.
What is the Impact of Cyber Attacks?
The Accenture report has also given information about the cost of different types of Cyberattacks. According to the report, Malware and Web-based attacks were the most expensive form of Cybercrimes while Ransomware was one of the fastest growing type of Cybercrime.
The impact of Cyberattacks can last for years. The immediate impact would be in the form of interruption to business operations. Loss of critical data will hamper business operations. An Interruption in business operations for a longer period of time also impacts the financial profits of the company.
Additionally, data breach incidents can lead to huge loss of reputation and customers. People whose data has been leaked might sue the company claiming damages.
Which Industries are most prone and susceptible to Cyberattacks?
Cyberattacks or Cybercrimes have evolved over time and there are multiple types of cyber-attacks today.
Some industries, because of the nature of data they hold, are more prone to cyberattacks.
The following industries are most susceptible to cybercrimes:
Banks and Financial Institutions: Banks and Financial Institutions store the account information, accountholder data, credit card information for millions of customers. This data is very valuable and makes banks and financial institutions a ripe target for Cyber Criminals
Utility Industry: Utilities companies store huge amounts of sensitive data and they also provide critical services by means of their infrastructure. Shutting down these utilities such as electricity supply or oil supply pipelines provides an attractive means for cyber attackers to extort money. The Utility Companies are also an attractive target since they do not invest lot of resources in cyber security which makes it easier to breach their systems.
Healthcare Industry: Healthcare Companies also store confidential data such as patient’s personal information, health records and insurance data. Such data can fetch thousands of dollars on the dark web and breach of such data might have grave consequences for the healthcare companies and make them a prime target of extortion.
Retail and E-Commerce Industries: E-Commerce Companies have access to data of millions of customers such as their personal information, credit card data, etc. The data is very valuable and a lucrative target for cyber criminals.
What are the recent Cyberattack examples in India?
India has been one of the foremost countries which has been the target of cyberattacks. Recent examples of Cyberattacks in India include the following:
Indigo Airlines: India’s biggest airline, Indigo Airlines, claimed in December 2020, that some of its servers were subject of a hacking incident and that some of its data may have been breached.
Lalpath Labs: Another big data leak incident occurred when one of the biggest diagnostic chains in India left data of millions of patients on an unsecured cloud server. The data contained confidential patient information such as names, gender, addresses, email ids, digital etc.
Dr Reddy’s: Dr Reddy’s, a generic drugmaker in India was subject of a cyber attack which forced it to shut some of its key manufacturing plants around the world.
Big Basket: An Indian E-Commerce Grocery Company was a victim of a data leak in November 2020 where the hackers uploaded personally identifiable data of 20 million customers on the internet and put it for sale for Rs30 lakhs
Cyber Liability Insurance Policy is a must for Small and Big Organisations
Today, Cyber-attacks and Data Breach incidents are increasingly common. Cyber Criminals are targeting small and big businesses alike. These cost to contain such incidents are also increasing exponentially. Thus, businesses should be proactive and invest in cyber security measures to prevent being victims of Cyberattacks. Additionally, businesses must invest in a Cyber Liability Insurance Policy to mitigate the financial cost of a cyberattack. Any business which stores sensitive data or accepts payments online by means of a credit card or debit card should purchase a Cyber Liability Insurance Policy.
A Cyber Insurance Policy in India can assist in recovering your business by paying for costs to hire forensic experts, data restoration costs, privacy notification expenses, credit monitoring costs, ransom payments etc.
Thus, a Cyber Insurance Policy can work as a perfect recovery mechanism if your business has suffered from a Cyberattack.
- What is a Cyber Insurance Policy?
- What is Cyber Threat or Cyber Risk?
- On Security Insurance Necessity For Businesses
- What does a Cyber Insurance Policy Cover?
- What kind of losses does a Company suffer on account of Cyberattacks and Security Breaches?
- What is the average Cost of a Cyber Incident?
- What are the First Party Liability Coverages under a Cyber Liability Policy?
- What are the Expenses Covered under a Cyber Liability Policy?
- What are the Third Party Liability Coverages covered under a Cyber Liability Insurance Policy?
- Cyber Security Insurance Policy (Why Does It Matter?)
- What are the Exclusions under a Cyber Liability Insurance?
- Cyber Insurance Policy Cost (What is reasonable?)
- Get Best Quotes for Cyber Insurance Policy with Qian