Untangling the Mystery of Cybersecurity Insurance

While it is unlikely that every company has experienced a data breach (whether known or unknown), no business is immune from this threat. Cyber incidents have become the third largest risk to businesses worldwide according to a recent report from the Insurance Information Institute. These cyber threats impact both small and large businesses, non-profit and publicly traded corporations, and even local and federal governments. The actors behind these threats are as wide-ranging as their targets. In recent years we have seen state-sponsored attacks against businesses for political purposes, hacktivists seeking social change, and a plethora of individual attacks for financial gain. The recent spate of high profile breaches show that many of these incidents play out very publicly, and may have devastating and long lasting consequences.

Not all is doom-and-gloom, however, and businesses do not have to switch to communicating via carrier pigeon just yet. These high-profile breaches have encouraged many businesses to proactively assess their own cyber liabilities and implement prevention and response plans. Fortunately, there are more technology options available to protect businesses than ever before, and both the U.S. government and private industry have made great strides in understanding and combating some of the most common cyber threats.