As a small business owner, you might think that your industry is not at risk for cybercrime or cyber insurance claims—but guess what? That is not the recommended way to look at cybersecurity. If you are curious to see if your particular industry is prone to cyber insurance claims, read on to learn more. If your business falls into one of the at-risk categories, do not worry—there are solutions to keeping your small business safe!
Top 8 Industries Most At Risk For High Cyber Insurance Claims
Eight industries seem to report the most cyber insurance claims. To think about this from a numerical perspective, over 30 industries with metrics of $1 million+ in revenue and $1 million in cyber liability coverage are considered at risk. Thirty industries are too many to discuss here, so we narrowed it down to the eight sectors that tend to keep the cybersecurity industry busiest for now.
- Banking and Payment Processing
Cyber attacks and data breaches are increasingly common because financial information is lucrative to access. From credit card information to bank account information, once someone else has obtained this personal information, it results in monetary takeovers, which is a scenario that no one wants.
- Healthcare
Hospitals and doctor offices are the motherlode for cybercriminals who can obtain patient records with sensitive information like medical history, prescriptions, disease prognosis, name, address, SSN, payment information, and of course, insurance claims you may have filed. What if someone starts paying for their surgeries on your dime? We don’t think so. Protections do exist, but so do high cyber claims from the healthcare industry.
- Education
School districts of all kinds collect the personal information of their students - enrollment data, academic research, financial records, addresses, billing information, etc. If this gets into the wrong hands, someone could file student loans in your name without your consent!
- Retail
Stores are considered to be quite vulnerable. Due to tap to pay terminals and cashier machines, it is very difficult to totally secure customers’ personal information. From point-of-sale fraud to data breaches, the retail industry is targeted.
- Government
The reasoning behind the vulnerability in governments, from federal down to local, is that these organizations struggle with malware infections and network security issues. Data encryption solutions are key to keeping this information safe and secure.
- Corporations
Non-retail businesses, in general, are a part of this industry category. Secure data is essential to keeping everyone’s personal information and intellectual property safe across the board. Good employee internet practices are essential, training with a knowledgeable IT network/team is also a great idea to avoid any cyber attacks or the need to file any cyber claims down the road.
- Manufacturing
This industry lacks the necessary security measures to protect from a cyberattack. Manufacturing companies simply do not tend to invest in such things like authentication measures and encryption to protect their internet users onsite. This results in high cyber insurance claims.
- Utilities
Refineries, military defense systems, water treatment plants, and other similar facilities are considered utilities, along with gas, electricity, and water. Sadly, they are all vulnerable to cyberattacks. Due to the use of digital systems, those with hacker prowess have been able to get into mainframe and control system networks that they should never have access to. In this way, they now have the ability to disrupt critical processes and truly cause a lot of damage to expensive equipment.
There are ways to protect your business from cyber attacks so you don’t have to file a cyber insurance claim. In the event a cyber attack or a data breach, it is advisable to have some form of cyber insurance coverage for your business in place beforehand. Cyber insurance can help restore your data in the event of a data breach.
Cyber attacks can be an element of owning a business, so take the steps to protect what matters most to you. Consider limiting access to information, installing firewalls, ensuring you have secure Wi-Fi, training your employees on best IT practices, and hiring IT professionals that can assist in keeping hackers at bay. And be especially careful if your business’s industry was mentioned here!
