Protect Your Business from Cyber Intrusions

AUSTIN, Texas - Oct. 6, 2020 - PRLog -- With many businesses closed to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, online access has become a crucial economic lifeline, as millions of consumers have flocked to e-commerce websites and millions more have taken up working from home (WFH).

But this increased dependence on a reliable, robust online IT infrastructure carries its own costs.

According to the head of cybersecurity at CapGemini, worldwide spending on cybersecurity has reached $120 billion, and it's expected to grow to $300 billion by 2024. Yet, despite this enormous outlay, CapGemini estimates that worldwide losses due to cyber fraud totaled $2 trillion during 2019. Another consulting firm, Accenture, projects the cost of cyber fraud will rise to $5.2 trillion worldwide within five years.

Over the years, many cyber-attacks have stayed on the down-low, to avoid public scrutiny for as long as possible.

But a series of high profile data breaches that put consumer data at risk has led to new governmental regulations obliging companies to come forward when customer data is exposed. The European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the most strict, penalizing companies with fines of up to 4% of annual turnover. (Fines for violating the new California Consumer Privacy Act are less severe, at up to $7,500 per incident.)

For smaller companies, the cumulative costs of a cyber-attack could literally put them out of business – permanently. Insurance carrier Hiscox reports that each cyber intrusion costs businesses $200,000 on average, while Chubb calculates that the average cost for a business to recover from a cyber-attack is $400,000.

Compounding the financial risk is whether you can even make a cybersecurity insurance claim at all; many carriers are now arguing that attacks by so-called "state actors" should be considered as an "act of war" – a category excluded by most insurance policy riders.

How The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Increased Our Exposure To Cyber Crime

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to more employees working from home as well as increased demand for e-commerce products and services, making this an ideal time for cyber criminals to attack corporate IT infrastructure.

A study from Reeves and Rothwell, cited by the Brookings Institute, found that the number of Americans working from home doubled during the pandemic lockdown.

Some tech companies are allowing employees to telecommute indefinitely, but, as we'll see in a moment, it's not a money-saving move as one might first believe.

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