Cybersecurity Insurance Checklist: Buying Cybersecurity Insurance in South Carolina

Sometimes one wrong click is all it takes: One of your employees unknowingly falls for a phishing scam and malware begins to infect your network and the systems on your network. If you are following the principle of least privilege, you may be able to limit the spread of malware, but even under the best circumstances, any type of malware can cause significant damage to your business. As a result, getting your network to perform at its maximum strength again could take several months.

Unfortunately, situations like this are becoming more and more common. Given the constant rise in cybercrime, more businesses across The Carolinas are relying on cybersecurity insurance to protect themselves from the repercussions associated with cybercrime. In today’s digital landscape, cyber risks are everywhere, and any of those risks could put your business-critical systems and valuable data in jeopardy. Ransomware, cyberattacks, security breaches, and data theft are all on the rise and more significant than ever, and cybersecurity insurance is becoming a must-have coverage for businesses of all sizes.

Cybersecurity insurance covers property losses and the liability associated with cybercrime such as ransomware, data breaches, phishing attacks, and more. While cybersecurity insurance coverage varies greatly and is quickly evolving. Cybersecurity insurance typically covers cyber-related losses from the costs of recovering stolen data in a breach to fines, penalties, and legal fees if your business is faced with lawsuits.

In previous years, obtaining a cybersecurity insurance policy was fairly simple. The application process typically involved checking to determine if a business implemented basic computer security measures, such as antivirus protection and firewalls. However, due to the rise in high-profile cybersecurity breaches, cybersecurity insurance providers are more aware of the risk cyber threats are posing to businesses today.

Therefore, cybersecurity insurance providers in South Carolina understand basic security measures are no longer sufficient to protect businesses. Now, policyholders are realizing that acquiring cybersecurity insurance will require further evaluation of their security processes.

How might these changes affect your ability to obtain cybersecurity insurance? Is there anything you can do about it? If you are looking to renew your cybersecurity insurance policy or purchase a cybersecurity insurance policy for the first time, here are a few questions you will need to answer on your cybersecurity insurance policy application to obtain coverage.

Internal Protection

• Do you use endpoint protection solutions across your organization?
• Do you use Multi-Factor Authentication on your devices?
• What processes do you use to apply mission-critical updates and patches?
• How do you prevent your users from accessing malicious content on the web?
• Do you use Intrusion Detection Services and/or Intrusion Prevention Services?
• How many sensitive and confidential records are held on your network?

Email Protection

• Are internal and external emails filtered for malicious links and attachments?
• Do you enforce the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) to authenticate the sender of an email?
• Do you educate and train your users to recognize phishing emails and other email-based threats?
• Do you use Microsoft 365 in your organization? (Is Multi-Factor Authentication enabled for each Microsoft 365 account?)

Data Backup and Recovery

• What does your data backup and recovery process consist of?
• Do you perform regular backups?
• Are your backups stored at an on-premise location?
• Do you use a cloud service for backups?
• When was the last time you checked your backups?

Threat Protection

• What steps do you take to protect your organization against ransomware attacks and other threats?
• Do you provide cybersecurity training to employees?
• Do you have a Security Operations Center (SOC)?

How Can You Get Cybersecurity Insurance in South Carolina?

Cybersecurity insurance can be the ultimate safety net for your organization should it experience a ransomware attack or security breach. A cybersecurity insurance policy transfers some of your risks to your insurance provider. However, cybersecurity insurance should not be your only defense against cyber threats. A cybersecurity insurance policy should complement a strong cybersecurity posture.

Once you purchase a cybersecurity insurance policy, you still have some work to do to get the most out of your cybersecurity insurance policy and further reduce your risks. When you are able to manage the cyber risks of your organization through proactive cybersecurity measures that will cover at least some of your potential financial losses, you will become more attractive to cybersecurity insurance providers.

Servcom USA helps organizations remain compliant by ensuring they have the proper cybersecurity measures in place, so they have peace of mind that they’re covered should the worst happen. Contact us today to get started.