The Ontario Broker - Volume 21, Issue 5 - 59

BEST PRACTICES FROM
INTACT'S IT TEAM
BUSINESSES IN CANADA
-SMALL, PLENTIFUL AND UNPROTECTED IN CYBER SPACE
* Use business devices only to
store and exchange business
data.
* Keep password-protected
screen savers for laptops,
smartphones and tablet
devices.
* Use the timeout (five minutes
maximum) feature to lock the
device screen when on idle.
* Choose not-easy-to-guess
passwords to protect your
devices and accounts.
* Change passwords frequently.
* Educate yourself on social
engineering and characteristics
of phishing scams.
* Regularly reinforce best
practices among your
employees.
* When in doubt, don't click on it.
Size of
Business
Small businesses
(1-99 paid employees)
Medium-sized businesses
(100-499 paid employees)
Large businesses
(500+ paid employees
Number of
Businesses
1.2 million
22,095
2,978
Percentage of
Market
97.9%
1.9%
0.2%
Source: Government of Canada
Unfortunately these businesses-in a very typical, humble way-think they're
too small, too unimportant to be at risk.
They're not.
If they have a website, if they have a mailing list, if they have employees who
use email and computers, they're at risk, and increasingly so. Coalition Inc.'s
H1 2021 Cyber Insurance Claims Report reveals that the first half of 2021 saw a
57 percent increase in cyber attacks against organizations with fewer than 250
employees.
FIVE QUESTIONS TO HELP
ASSESS YOUR CUSTOMERS'
CYBER EXPOSURE
1
What are your intangible assets?
How do you protect them?
Who controls and protects your
website?
What would you do if you lost
control of your website or social
media accounts?
How do you collect and store your
clients' information? What would
you do if you lost access to that
data?
2
3
4
5
What training do your employees
get on cyber security?
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 5
Most of these organizations are unprotected. A 2020 Cyberscout research study
reports that more than 69 percent of these smaller businesses don't have cyber
liability coverage-worse, as per the Statistics Canada data above, they don't
have cyber risk mitigation policies in place.
Of the two-cyber liability insurance and cyber risk mitigation procedures-risk
mitigation practices are the more critical piece of cyber security for SMEs.
The insurance industry was built in a tangible world, and most of what we
continue to insure today are things we can touch. The ongoing shift to a
knowledge economy and the resulting dominance of intangible assets mean
insurers must shift the paradigm so solutions are responsive and protect what's
important to customers right now, whether that asset exists physically or in
cyber space. As we work to shift that paradigm, the most important tool to
protect Canadian business against cyber threats is education.
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office recently reported that nine out
of 10 cyber breaches in that country are caused by human error. Canadian
statistics are likely similar. This means we must increase cyber security education
among employees, business partners and customers.
The role of brokers in this initiative cannot be overstated. As Cyberscout's CMO
Jeremy Barnett said in a 2020 Insurance Bureau of America's white paper on
cyber insurance, " Brokers are key to helping small businesses get proactive
about managing their cyber risk. "
Insurers can provide all the wordings, tip sheets and best practice guidelines
they like. None of these resources will help unless customers understand,
embrace and implement them. If you're not sharing best practices in cyber risk
mitigation with your customers, start today. In a threat landscape that's evolving
daily, you're their best protection. For co-branded resources to help with your
conversations on cyber security, talk with your Intact Insurance representative.
59
The Ontario Broker - Volume 21, Issue 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - Volume 21, Issue 5
