Riding the Cyber Wave: Insurance Trends Shaping the Future for Mid-Sized Organizations

Cyber Insurance Trends for Mid-Sized Organizations

The cyber insurance market has experienced dramatic changes over the past couple of years, including large payouts from ransomware attacks and the shift to hybrid/remote work. These changes have had a substantial impact on premiums, with 47% of organizations experiencing premium increases of 76% or more in the past year.

While premium increases have begun to stabilize, it is important to be aware of the factors that can impact your premiums and take steps to keep them manageable. Here are some best practices for improving your cyber hygiene and keeping your premiums down:

Update Your Incident Response Plan

A comprehensive incident response plan is essential for any organization. Without a plan in place, companies are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks, and recovery from such attacks can take much longer. If you don't have an incident response plan, start working on one today. And be sure to practice your plan regularly so that you know what to do in the event of an incident.

Establish Data Governance Controls

By maximizing visibility into and governance of all of your data repositories, you can better understand where your data lives and how it is used. This is especially important in today's work environment, as data sprawl continues to be a growing concern. When it comes to access management processes for large groups, limit access to data on a 'business need to know' basis, as that can decrease the attack surface for a potential cyberattacker.

Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the simplest ways to enhance your cybersecurity defenses. According to research from Microsoft, users that enable MFA on their accounts can block up to 99.99% of automated cyberattack attempts. You should require MFA on all remote access requests to your network, network administrator accounts, and user accounts that have elevated permissions. It's also critical to educate users about “MFA fatigue” attacks.

Leverage Next-Generation Anti-Virus Protection

Despite growing user awareness, a significant proportion of cyberattacks are still initiated by long-standing attack techniques, including virus-laden email attachments, phishing links that direct users to ransomware and malware sites, and malicious software updates. Automated detection and response functionality should be included on all of your endpoints to offer the best protection to your users. On top of that, detected endpoint activity must be monitored and investigated 24/7. Our service also automatically remediates any issues!

Back Up Your Data on a Regular Basis

While this may seem like a mundane administrative task, backing up your data helps to maximize your company's data protection. For example, you should disconnect (“air-gap”) data backups from your networks or segregate them with MFA, as well as test them frequently with the goal to restore essential functionality within 24 hours in the event of a widespread ransomware attack across your network. Data backup procedures should be a key component of your incident response plan, and you should explore ransomware recovery technology to recover more quickly. Our Back Up service for Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 offers Unlimited storage. We also offer backup for Quickbooks Online.

Implement Email Protection and Network Monitoring Solutions

Email protection and network monitoring are mission-critical for your organization. Pre-screen emails for potentially malicious attachments and links, while strongly considering the replacement of file attachments with user links. By monitoring for suspicious activity or malicious network behavior, you can keep your business one step ahead of a potential cyberattack. LeewardCloud's API-based scans email after Gmail’s default security but before the inbox!

Adopt Phishing Training

While it’s crucial that company-wide cybersecurity awareness training be considered a way of life for all organizations, be sure to incorporate simulated attack scenarios and anti-phishing education into your “defense in depth” toolbox. (Contact us if you'd like to get started.) To be most effective, that training must be conducted on an ongoing basis rather than presented as a once-a-year IT requirement. You should also encourage company stakeholders to speak up if they see potential security issues. Similar to travelers at an airport or a train station, “if they see something, they should say something.”

Maintain Regular System Updates

Some cybersecurity defense measures we use today will likely be obsolete by 2023, as technology evolves. Update your computer systems regularly and perform critical patching of zero-day vulnerabilities as soon as they are released by vendors. And, be careful to utilize official “app stores” for software downloads – particularly for mobile device updates – as malicious software look-alikes abound.

Continue the Education Process

Cyber insurance can be complex to navigate for many organizations. By following the best practices outlined above and continuing to educate yourself on how the process works, you can keep premiums manageable while bolstering your company’s cybersecurity defenses.

For more information on cyber insurance and how to improve your cybersecurity hygiene, reach us via LeewardCloud.io/contactus