Did you know?
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 99% of Canadian organizations have seen an increase in cyber attacks, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).
With more Canadians working from home during the pandemic, cyber criminals have taken advantage of the opportunities as companies have been slow to adopt proper cyber security protocols.
In fact, remote work has increased the average cost of a data breach by $137,000, says the IBC, and 89% of companies have experienced increased (email) phishing attacks since the start of the pandemic.
A recent report from The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, entitled Cyberfraud in Small Business, revealed that 61,000 Canadian small and midsize business were victims of cyber fraud last year, with 5% reporting the attacks were successful.
5 Major Cybersecurity Pitfalls of Employees Working Remotely
- Not ensuring employees use proper IT security on their personal devices.
- Insufficient employee cyber risk awareness training (i.e. how to spot phishing emails).
- Not having clear reporting processes on who employees can reach out to internally if they encounter a suspicious email/cyber issue.
- Insufficient workflow processes on wire transfer procedures.
- Not having immediate access to IT security/legal/public relations expertise in the event of a cyber attack.
5 Ways to Protect Your Business and Remote Staff
- Develop a culture of cyber risk awareness. Most cyber attacks are caused by human error or curiosity.
- Create an incident response plan and ensure your staff are aware. Update it quarterly to stay on top of the fast-paced nature of cyber crime.
- Develop a business continuity and disaster management plan and keep it up to date.
- Provide company IT hardware for remote workers and move away from allowing employees to utilize their own devices for work.
- Ensure you have adequate cyber insurance coverage for your business.
What You Should Know About Business Cyber Insurance
These days, there’s more to cyber insurance policies than financial loss coverage. Policies are much more accessible and service focused, including IT, legal and reputational damage as well as training and awareness for your staff. A sufficient cyber insurance policy gives your business:
- Immediate access to (and cost coverage for) expert IT security, legal and public relations assistance as soon as the incident is discovered.
- Business interruption/lost revenue coverage from:
- a ransomware attack, system shutdown and ransom payments.
- hardware replacement costs and data recreation.
- e-theft of funds by imposters.
- privacy regulation costs.
- legal defense costs in the event you’re sued for losing sensitive customer, employee and/or supplier information.
- Cyber risk awareness training for you and your staff.
This content is powered by the Canadian Broker Network.
CapriCMW is a proud member of the Canadian Broker Network (CBN), an alliance of Canada’s leading independent insurance brokerages representing over 50 offices, 1,500 professionals and over $1 billion in premiums. Learn more at canadianbrokernetwork.com.
