Data Breach – this can occur when you don’t know it and could be happening in your business right now …….
The average time before a data breach is detected in a business is 205 days and has been know to be as long as 8 years.
In the real world a bank robbery occurs in a matter of minutes , in the virtual world a compromise to your security and the gradual stealing of data could occur over many days and even years without you being aware.
It is therefore very important that a businesses has effective cyber security measures in place to combat and manage a potential data breach.
The key to this process centers around three main areas:-
- The most up to date software or software that is regularly patched.
- Effective risk management procedures which are constantly reviewed and supported by management at all levels.
- Regularly updated business continuity /disaster recovery plans.
With this in place it increases the chances of discovering a compromise of your computer systems at an early stage…. – it is very unlikely that you will achieve 100% certainty.
Once discovered it is vitally important that the management of a data breach is carried out in a prompt and organised fashion . If it is not it could make the difference between a business surviving and not being a viable entity post data breach.
A cyber liability insurance policy can help mitigate the impact of a data breach by providing the following benefits:-
- Crisis Management – this involves the appointment of a crisis management consultant to assess and manage the data breach.
- Public Relations Costs – the purpose of a PR consultant is to manage the data breach in the public domain so that reputational damage can be minimal.
- Call Center Costs – the utilization of a call center will assist in the additional costs incurred in the management of customers concerns about the possible loss of personal information and notification of the incident.