What’s at risk

The assets you cannot afford to compromise

On the right is a list of what cybersecurity insurance covers, providing a good sense of what is at risk from cybercrime. This was published in 2015 by Lloyd’s of London in partnership with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) as part of a quick guide to cyber risk:

First-party insurance covers your business’s own assets. This may include:

Loss or damage to digital assets such as data or software programmes
Business interruption from network downtime
Cyber extortion, where third parties threaten to damage or release data if money is not paid to them
Customer notification expenses when there is a legal or regulatory requirement to notify them of a security or privacy breach
Reputational damage arising from a breach of data that results in loss of intellectual property or customers
Theft of money or digital assets through theft of equipment or electronic theft

Third-party insurance covers the assets of others, typically your customers.
This may include:

Security and privacy breaches, and the investigation, defence costs and civil damages associated with them
Multi-media liability, to cover investigation, defence costs and civil damages arising from defamation, breach of privacy or negligence in publication, in electronic, or print media
Loss of third-party data, including payment of compensation to customers for denial of access, and failure of software or systems

Source: A Quick Guide to Cyber Risk, Lloyd’s in partnership with the ABI, 2015

Cyber essentials for your organisation

In the UK, if a business wants to bid for any central government contract that involves handling sensitive and personal information or providing certain technical products and services, it must hold a Cyber Essentials Certification.

Cyber essentials are:

Use a firewall to secure your internet connection
Choose the most secure settings for your devices and software
Control who has access to your data and services
Protect yourself against viruses and other malware
Keep your devices and software up to date.

Source: National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ