Category Archive for : ‘Data Breach’

Now that the initial dust has settled and your employees are regularly working from home, you are coming to grips with the fact that your business now has an increased cyber liability exposure. This type of exposure could quickly have a significant financial impact on your business. With equipment and networks extended beyond the office, employees using personal devices and unsecured or outdated software a situation has been created rife for technological exploitation. What can you do to mitigate these risks?

Step 1 – Identify the Exposures

Conduct an in depth analysis

Businesses across the nation are taking the necessary steps to protect their employees and their customers in uncertain times. One of the most obvious steps is to have people work from home. It is one of the safest steps they can take, but it also expands the opportunities for fraudsters to steal businesses’ confidential data, funds and trade secrets. In their quest to protect their employees and customers and protect company operations cybersecurity may not be first and foremost on their mind.

What are some of the exposures?

Ransomware attacks
Phishing attacks (social

If your organization handles critical assets such as customers’ personal data, intellectual property or proprietary corporate data, you are at risk of a data breach. It doesn’t matter if you are a Fortune 500 company or a small “ma & pa” shop—cyber thieves are always looking for their next score. It is often assumed that smaller businesses can escape attention from cyber crooks, but according to industry experts, an increasing number of data breaches are occurring at companies with fewer than 100 employees. No company of any size is completely

In the digital age, most of us are aware that we take certain risks everyday by using plastic & digital forms of currency.  Our data is very valuable to cyber criminals and the institutions charged with protecting that data can be vulnerable.

Capital One announced on July 19, 2019, that the personal information of more than 100 million of its U.S. customers was compromised in one of the largest data breaches involving a bank. In an official release from the company, Capital One noted that the information exposed includes names, addresses,

We live in an age where we are more “connected” than ever before.  Our phones are “smart,” are homes are “smart”and Alexa is our best friend. All of these conveniences can also make us more vulnerable to a range of new cyber risks.

What is Malware?

Malware is software that’s main function is to damage or disable a computer.  Generally, it infects our computers with a virus because we have clicked on an infected email or link.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware is used by Cyber criminals to hold computer

With information technology accelerating all around us it is clear that defending our digital data will be an ongoing battle in the future. More and more people are sharing sensitive information about themselves on the internet, and as businesses continue to transition to the digital landscape, there are more hands in the information cookie jar. These advances allows us connection and convenience, but also come with an increased risk of identity theft. Breaches of consumer’s personal information have steadily risen over the past decade, leaving the public and businesses desperate

Cyber Hackers never rest!

Let’s be honest—criminal hackers are very good at what they do. As a matter of fact good criminal hackers are better at what they do for a living than what we legally do for a living. THIS is a link to the article written by an IT professional entitled: “How Criminal Hackers Make Money From Your Data”.  It is a very simple to read article and drives home this point.

Any organization, regardless of what business or professional sector they are in, is a “target rich” environment. Your data makes

To properly protect your organization you must understand the types of threats you face. Social engineering is a rapidly growing tactic for fraudsters and it is critical that employees know not only what to look out for, but how to handle an attempt. Watch as our own Ed McGuire, Director of Specialty Insurance, talks about how you can spot and prevent an attack.

This is a legitimate question many business owners may keep asking themselves when they hear of another data breach occurring at a major retailer, healthcare provider or financial institution. The majority of businesses are far below the size category of the large and well-known victims of data breaches. These business owners may rationalize that they have a minimal cyber liability exposure. This may make them feel that they are less of a target and their data may not be of value to cyber criminals or fraudsters. Nothing could be further

“My business doesn’t have the type of information hackers want.” This seems to be a common mantra with many small to medium sized companies I have spoken with over the past few years. They are aware breaches are increasing, but feel their data is just not that valuable to a hacker. The hard fact is pretty much all data is valuable to a hacker. However, it is just not hackers that business owners need to be concerned about. Unintentional acts by employees still account for a very large number of