The recent global cyber-attack hit 200,000 people in at least 150 countries including businesses in Australia with authorities warning more is yet to come. The number of cyber crimes are continuing to rise, and Australian businesses are becoming a juicy target for international attackers. The Australian Cyber Security Strategy implemented by the government encourages the ASX organisations to collaborate on Cyber security however small business must also be a focus.
A cyber safe small business sector must be a Charter focus
Small Businesses requires access to people with the right technical knowledge to advise them on how to be Cyber security savvy. Something larger organisations readily have at their finger tips. The Small Business Charter will need to include not only resources for small business to get advice easily on such matters but provide training to guide small business management about the threats of Cyber. The Australian economy is dependent on the small business sector to thrive and if customers don’t trust their on line systems then many small businesses could be in jeopardy.
The Charter also needs to address breach of privacy matters. The Australian Government has established a Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme to ensure that affected individuals are notified about serious data breaches. It only includes businesses which turnover $3 million per annum. So what about all the businesses who operate under this radar? Making the reporting of privacy breaches mandatory enables businesses to have a disciplined and regulated approach and encourages sharing of the types of breaches made, e.g. a pharmacy who experiences a cyber attack losing all customer confidential medical records. In the absence of the curtain below $3 million being lowered the Charter should support small businesses on how to go about implementing internal reporting privacy breaches for their own businesses and retain records and the importance of same. The clock is ticking as the NDB scheme will apply to all businesses, government agencies and other organisations covered by the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act) and will commence on 22 February 2018.
Small and medium businesses are attractive targets
Australian small businesses in the past few years have opened up their business to opportunities with Asian markets as a result of the growth of internet usage in Asia. The international attackers leverage this opportunity to target these small businesses as potential and vulnerable targets.
The need for Cyber Insurance
A cyber insurance policy can be customised to protect every business. The Cyber Insurance policy is different from commercial crime insurance and is designed to suit the needs of business in the digital age. With appropriate cyber insurance cover, an insurer can rapidly respond to the incident and with a 24/7 assistance hotline and a team of cyber experts will be able to mitigate any loss and impact aiding recovery from the incident. Every business should highly consider having Cyber risk insurance.
If you are unsure about your current coverage and need a professional advisor to review your insurance policy or risk, please contact the friendly team at Insurance Made Easy for personal assistance to discuss your circumstances on 1800 641 260 or visit imeinsurance.com.au
Written by James Gillard, Managing Director of IME Insurance
