Today, cybersecurity insurance is one of the necessities a business can’t operate without. Cyber liability insurance covers companies in case of a cybersecurity breach or a hacker attack, mitigating potentially devastating financial consequences.
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How much does cyber insurance cost?
The bad news is that even though it is absolutely crucial for most businesses to have adequate cyber insurance, it can cost a lot. The reason for this is that the average cost of a data breach reaches $4 million, so premiums have to be high enough for insurance companies to be able to stay in business. Plus, there’s very little data on how much data breaches actually cost, so it can be difficult for insurance companies underwriters to accurately assess the potential financial risk for each insured company. Companies in the medical and financial fields typically see the largest cyber insurance premiums because they handle large amounts of sensitive information, which makes them an attractive target for cybercriminals.
How to lower your cyber liability insurance premium?
On the bright side, there are many things you can do to lower your cybersecurity insurance premiums. First of all, you need to perform a detailed risk assessment for your company to determine what cybercriminals might go after when they attack your company and therefore what needs to be protected. Once that’s determined, work with your insurance company to customize your plan to fit your company’s specific needs.
Conducting regular company-wide penetration testing is another tool you can use to lower your cyber liability insurance premiums. An expert cybersecurity company like HackControl can help you uncover security vulnerabilities through rigorous penetration testing, making your company less susceptible to cyber-attacks and more protected in the eyes of your cyber insurance provider.
Upgrade your password policy and encrypt data to lower cyber insurance costs
Implementing a strict password policy is another virtually free thing you can do to protect your business from hacker attacks and to minimize your cyber insurance costs. A good company password policy requires employees to use a different password for each website, program or account, making sure that those passwords are longer than 8 characters, don’t contain actual words, have both lowercase and uppercase letters, etc. It’s also a great idea to implement two-factor authorization across the company but make sure you avoid using text messages as the verification method, as they can be easily spoofed.
Additionally, it’s important to encrypt all sensitive information so that even if it does fall into the hackers’ hands, there’s no way for them to actually decipher the information. You should also keep track of who has the encryption key – the number of people who have access to it should be minimal. And of course, don’t forget to provide your insurer with information about what data is encrypted and how – this can help lower your cyber insurance premium significantly.
