Nowadays, working life is more accessible to imagine with the help of digital tools and platforms everywhere on the net. Despite the absence of an IT department or working within the technology sector, your organization still needs to communicate, transact, store data, or interact with customers via internet connectivity. Whether employees from your company use mobile phones for work purposes, your e-commerce website, or your employees mailing each other, you are a part of a digital ecosystem. The Internet has afforded companies unprecedented opportunities to grow, engage with customers, and manage their businesses. However, with these opportunities come significant risks.
As cyberattacks, data breaches, and online fraud grow in frequency, all sizes of companies are subject to severe disruption and reputational damage. It is not untrue that it has been predicted that Annual damages caused by cybercrime will amount to $10.5 trillion by 2025, according to the Cybersecurity Ventures report. What is the level of preparation of my business for a cyberattack, and what are the resources available to effectively respond to one? An effective way to counter these threats is through cyber insurance, an expanding part of business insurance that can assist you in restoring your business after a cyber attack.
How Will You Know If Your Business Needs Cyber Insurance?
Could a cyber attack lead to irrecoverable financial or operational harm to your company? When the answer is “yes,” and an attack recovery endeavor is beyond your in-house ability, cyber insurance should be a part of your business risk management strategy. Consider some of the most significant metrics indicating that your company would benefit from a cyber insurance policy.
Key Indicators Your Business Needs it
1. High Dependence on Digital Operations
Almost all of the population today consumes one form of digital tool for communication, purchasing, or storing data. This is particularly true when you work in service industries such as e-commerce, finance, health care, or technology. A cyber incident that heavily impacts your business’s reliance on web-based systems, e-commerce, or proprietary information could bring your business to a standstill.
Statistic: According to a 2023 report by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the total number of cyber incidents reported in India reached 14.91 lakh in 2022, a 5% increase from the previous year. These binary values represent the magnitude and scale of cyber attacks companies are struggling with.
2. Handling Sensitive Information
Businesses with access to sensitive information (customer information, financial data, intellectual property) are easy targets for cybercriminals. Data breaches can cause severe economic, operational, and reputational damage, particularly if they are exploited for identity theft or fraud.
Example: The personal data of more than 5 million people in India was leaked during a large-scale data exfiltration on a popular e-commerce website-based malware exploitation last year. Such attacks can result in significant fines and damage the company’s reputation.
3. Limited In-House Cybersecurity Expertise
Small and medium enterprises (SMBs), however, do not have access to both tools and infrastructure to build a robust cybersecurity foundation. Without a specialized cybersecurity staff and incident response plan, recovery from a cyberattack can become a nightmare in cost and scope. Uncompleted experience could result in lost attack prevention opportunities and inadequate response when an attack occurs.
Statistic: According to a 2023 survey by McKinsey Company, more than 60% of Indian SMEs do not have an established cybersecurity strategy, thus leaving them susceptible to cyber-attacks.
4.Potential for Catastrophic Losses
Each singular cyber attack, ransomware attack, data breach, or denial-of-service (DoS) attack can cause businesses to crumble. The financial implications of such attacks may be loss of revenue, legal fees, recovery and remediation costs, and reputational damage. Inadequate protection may lead to an irreparable loss to your company.
Example: According to a 2022 PwC report, the average cost of a data breach in India was INR 16.3 crores, which is a financial burden that can be disastrous for small and medium enterprises.
5. Third-Party Dependencies
For most businesses today, help from third-party vendors, suppliers, or partners is necessary. Their vulnerabilities could expose your business to cyber risks. Cyber insurance can enable you to mitigate the cyber risk from your supply chain by covering, e.g., the fallout of a vendor’s cybersecurity breach on your operations or customer data.
Statistic: A 2022 study by Accenture found that 77% of organizations in India suffered cyber incidents caused by third-party vulnerabilities, underscoring the need for comprehensive risk management, including cyber insurance.
How Cyber Insurance Protects Your Business
Cyber insurance offers a financial safety net and expert-level support to help your business recover after a cyber attack? Here’s how cyber insurance can protect you:
- Financial Cushion: Cyber insurance can be used to reimburse a wide array of costs associated with a cyberattack such as:
- Data recovery: The costs associated with restoring your systems and data.
- Business interruption: The remediation costs incurred by a revenue loss when your business is interrupted due to a cyberattack.
- Legal fees: Insurance against the costs of legal procedures, including litigation, investigations, and settlement of regulatory sanctions.
- Expert Assistance: Cyber insurance policies typically provide access to expert support that can help recover following a cyber attack.
- Forensic experts: To understand what caused the breach and its consequences.
- Incident response managers: To help contain the attack and mitigate damage.
- Legal advisors: To navigate regulatory compliance and handle legal claims.
- Regulatory Compliance In India, companies must adhere to specific data protection laws, such as Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules and the Data Protection Bill. Cyber insurance can help manage the financial burden of fines and compliance costs, ensuring your business can stay on top of evolving data protection laws.
- Third-Party Liabilities Cyber insurance, for example, can also cover third-party liabilities such as customer or business partner claims resulting from a breach of your systems. Such coverage may be used to help mitigate against reputational harm to your business as well as the financial consequences of seeking litigation.
Is Cyber Insurance Worth It?
The devastating costs of a cyberattack. Although premiums can fluctuate for the number of businesses you insure, your level of coverage, and your industry, cyber insurance is typically more reasonable than you might imagine.
In fact, the premium for an average cyber insurance policy in India may be as low as INR 50,000-70,000 annually for small light businesses. Conclusion There is absolutely no business, no matter how small, medium, or large, that is immune from cyberattack risk. The Internet offers many opportunities, but simultaneously, it also seriously threatens the enterprise.
Cyber attacks, data breaches, and ransomware continue to destroy operations, tarnish brand image, and potentially ruin financial losses. When the potential business damage from a cyberattack is significant enough that you do not have the skills and experience to manage recovery, cyber insurance is more than an option; it is becoming increasingly essential.
One company can assist in protecting businesses from these increasing threats: Mitigata
Specializing in comprehensive cyber insurance solutions, Mitigata provides tailored coverage to meet the unique needs of businesses in India. With Mitigata, you gain access to a network of expert advisors, forensic specialists, and a dedicated team that will help you respond swiftly and efficiently to any cyber threat. Their proposals are targeted to guarantee that your business is always provided with protection, no matter the size of the cyber attack.
Mitigata’s cyber insurance provides data recovery across the spectrum to third-party exposure, providing that much-needed sense of comfort and the resources you may need to traverse the thorny landscape of cybersecurity.
The good news is that no matter how bad things get, Mitigata ensures you can get ready for business as usual, putting the facility back on the same footing as before the accident, allowing activity to resume, and leading to rehab while preparing for potential subsequent threats.
In today’s uncertain cyber landscape, don’t wait for a cyberattack to strike—take action now with Mitigata to ensure your business is protected.
