Is your business prepared to confront today’s growing cybersecurity threats?
Although adopting the latest technologies and industry trends is undoubtedly crucial, it is equally important to ensure that your business has the best cyber liability insurance. Think of it as an invisible shield protecting your business from devastating losses. However, to harness its full potential and ensure robust protection, it is critical to have a nuanced understanding of it.
In this blog, we’ll delve into the key considerations when shopping for cyber liability insurance. But before we do that, let’s first understand the difference between first-party coverage and third-party coverage.
First-Party Coverage vs. Third-Party Coverage
Every business today needs cyber liability insurance. To help businesses quickly respond and recover from data breaches, insurance providers have developed two types of cyber liability insurance – first-party coverage and third-party coverage.
Here’s how they differ:
1. Focus of Coverage
First-party coverage:
- Shields the insured business
- Protects against direct losses and expenses resulting from a data breach
Third-party coverage:
- Focuses on liabilities from third parties
- Covers claims made by third parties who suffered losses because of the insured business’s cyber incident
2. Costs Covered
First-party coverage:
- Covers only the insured’s direct costs
- Pays for revenue loss, forensic investigations, data restoration, public relations and customer notification services
Third-party coverage:
- Pays for businesses’ legal expenses
- Covers cyber-related liabilities, such as data breaches, privacy violations and defamation
3. Reputation Management
First-party coverage:
- Pays for expenses related to hiring public relations firms
- Aims to restore the brand image of a business after a cyber incident
Third-party coverage:
- Primarily focused on handling the legal aspects
- More concerned with defending against claims and settling third-party disputes
4. Beneficiaries of Coverage
First-party coverage:
- Directly benefits the insurer
- Provides direct protection to the insured party against direct losses
Third-party coverage:
- Benefits third parties, such as a business’s customers, clients and business partners
- Provides direct protection to those affected by a data breach suffered by the insured business
Key Things to Consider While Shopping for a Policy
Here are some key points to consider when shopping for a cyber liability insurance policy:
Coverage
Comprehensive coverage is key to reducing the impact of a cyber incident. Your business can become the victim of a data breach or a large-scale cyberattack at any time. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure that the policy addresses cyber-risks specific to your business.
Limits
Evaluate the policy to understand the coverage limits. The policy that you finalize should be able to handle the potential costs associated with a cyberattack, including legal fees, data recovery and business interruption expenses.
Exclusions
Study the policy outlines to understand what is excluded. Any limitations in your policy can make your business vulnerable. That’s why it’s crucial to know what is not covered by your insurance.
Incident Response
Make sure that the policy has provisions for developing and implementing a cyber incident response plan tailored to suit your business. Without a well-defined response plan, you won’t be able to effectively respond to a cyber incident.
Here at Databranch, our managed clients receive expert guidance if a cyber incident were to occur at their business. This includes device isolation through our software tool stack, immediate assistance from an engineer, and guidance if you have questions while submitting your insurance claim.
Price
Before finalizing a policy, compare and cross-check various policies, especially their costs and unique offerings. Although opting for the most affordable option can be tempting, it is crucial to ensure that the coverage you choose is best suited for your business needs.
Reputation
It is also important to do your due diligence and research the insurance company’s reputation. Look for an insurer with a good reputation and positive customer feedback. Choose a company that settles claims promptly, as that is a reliable indicator of the level of support you can expect when you need it.
Build a Resilient Future
Finding the right cyber liability insurance coverage for your business can be daunting. However, it can be even more challenging to get a payout when you need it the most. That’s where Databranch comes in.
We can help you improve your chances of securing coverage. Reach out to Databranch today at 716-373-4467 option 6, or info@databranch.com, and let’s build a resilient future together. You can also download our checklist below which summarizes these essential steps when buying cyber insurance.
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In today’s fast-paced and digitally driven world, the demands placed on the IT infrastructure of businesses like yours are ever-increasing. To meet these challenges head-on, embracing outsourced IT services and entrusting your technological needs to an experts, such as Databranch, is the best option. By partnering with our team, you can tap into a wealth of knowledge, experience and cutting-edge technologies that might otherwise be challenging to obtain in-house.
Outsourced IT acts as a beacon of relief, enabling you to offload the burdensome responsibilities of managing IT. With dedicated professionals and advanced tools at their disposal, outsourced IT providers can implement robust security measures, ensure seamless data backups and monitor systems 24/7, all while adhering to industry best practices and compliance standards.
However, amid the promise and potential of outsourced IT, lingering myths can hold you back from embracing this transformative approach. In this blog, we’ll dispel the popular myths and shed light on the truths related to outsourced IT.
Debunking Common Outsourced IT Myths
Myth #1: It only focuses on technical issues.
Contrary to popular belief, outsourced IT encompasses much more than just technical support. It goes beyond resolving everyday glitches and delves into critical areas that drive business success.
Leading IT service providers offer comprehensive and advanced solutions, including robust cybersecurity measures, reliable backup and recovery systems, and efficient cloud computing services.
By partnering with Databranch, you gain a strategic ally who aligns technology with your unique needs, boosts productivity and offers proactive support.
Myth #2: It’s only for large enterprise companies.
The truth is that businesses of all sizes and across industries can benefit immensely from outsourcing their IT needs. Even smaller organizations, often constrained by limited resources, can gain a lot.
Databranch is a committed IT service provider capable of handling diverse technological demands, meaning you can tap into our resource pool rather than struggling to build and maintain an in-house IT team. This allows you to gain an edge over the competition.
Myth #3: It’s too expensive for my budget and resources.
Cost considerations often fuel doubts about outsourced IT. However, when carefully evaluated, outsourcing proves to be a cost-effective solution.
Investing in an internal IT department entails substantial expenses, ranging from recruitment and training to salaries and benefits. On top of that, the ever-evolving technology landscape demands constant investments in infrastructure upgrades and software licenses.
That’s why Databranch provides access to specialized expertise and eliminates the financial burden of maintaining an internal team. With economies of scale at play, you can access cutting-edge infrastructure and security measures at a fraction of the cost.
Databranch offers two main service programs for you budget, both designed for full network coverage: Proactive and Comprehensive Care. Visit our website here to learn more about each one and to contact us with any questions.
Myth #4: It leads to a loss of control over IT operations.
A common fear associated with outsourced IT is the perceived loss of control. However, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. By partnering with the Databranch team, you gain enhanced visibility into your IT operations, leading to better decision-making and outcomes.
Detailed reports, analytics and performance metrics offer valuable insights that empower you to align your IT strategies with your objectives. Moreover, we aim for a collaborative relationship that fosters transparency, open communication and meaningful decision-making.
Partner for success
Ready to revolutionize your business with the remarkable benefits of outsourcing your IT operations? Look no further! Get in touch with us today at 716-373-4467 x115 or info@databranch.com to embark on a transformative journey toward streamlined efficiency and accelerated growth.
We know managing your IT infrastructure can be complex and time-consuming, diverting your attention away from your core business objectives. That’s where our expertise comes into play — armed with extensive experience and cutting-edge solutions to seamlessly handle all your IT needs.
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It is common for organizations to invest in preventative cybersecurity defenses. In fact, most organizations have technologies such as firewalls and anti-virus software that are designed to stop a cyber-attack. These controls certainly serve a purpose in fighting the war against cybercrime and should not be discounted.
But, cybersecurity professionals are recommending that we turn our attention to our ability to detect cybersecurity incidents and recover from them.
It makes perfect sense. The reality is that defending cyber-attacks is an incredibly hard task to do. Hackers are anonymous, perimeters are not physical, attacks are sophisticated, and the volume of cyber assaults launched every day is astounding. Defending cyber-attacks is a little like entering a cage fight blindfolded with one arm tied behind your back. Despite the best defensive efforts, you will get hit.
Hence the recommendation to invest the ability to recover from a cybersecurity incident. Of course we will continue to defend ourselves from cyber criminals, but we also recognize we are not fighting a fair fight, and that we will likely suffer a cyber incident at some point. The thought is simple, when we become a victim of cybercrime, we must be prepared to recover from the incident.
If you do not regularly backup critical data and systems, then you must start doing so immediately. If you do not have a documented disaster recovery plan, then you must create one as soon as possible. In the process of creating a data backup strategy and disaster recovery plan, please recognize the nine most common mistakes made and more importantly, how you can avoid making them in your quest for recovery preparation.
The 9 Mistakes
1. The Scope of the Backup is Incomplete
It is very common to see a data backup that has very little strategic thought behind it. Evidence of this mistake presents itself in the form of:
- Important Data, Applications, or Systems that are NOT included in the backup job(s).
- All Data, Applications and Systems are backed up the exact same way – there are no priorities.
- The time it takes to ACTUALLY recover lost or corrupt data is much longer than expected.
- The point in time in which you are ACTUALLY able to restore to is too far in the past (I want to recover yesterday’s information, but I am only able to recover last month’s information!)
Avoid this mistake by classifying and prioritizing the data, applications and systems that need to be backed up. A Business Impact Analysis will identify critical sets of data and define Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). This allows you to implement a backup job that supports lightning fast restore times for critical information.
2. Backups are Not Completed Automatically
All too often we see backup jobs that require a person to manually start the backup. The process to start the backup job is usually very simple, like clicking a button. However , people forget to do it.
Backup jobs should always be automated. Automation eliminates human error or neglect and yields a much better chance of having a successful backup when you need it most.
With Datto you will receive daily backup verifications and screen shots of your virtual servers give you peace of mind and ensure that your backup data is working and accessible to you when you need it.
3. There is Only ONE Copy of the Backup
There should always be more than one copy of your data backup. For critical systems, we recommend having three copies – for less critical systems, we recommend having two copies. The logic is simple, what happens if your data backup is lost, deleted or becomes corrupt? If you need to restore from backup, is it more comforting to have only one recovery source, or is it more comforting to have a few recovery sources?
4. Backups are Not Monitored for Success
So many businesses have a “set it and forget it” mentality about their data backup jobs. People rarely check to see if the backups are running successfully. For this reason it is important that your backup jobs are monitored very closely and if there are any errors (and there will be from time to time) that cause a backup job to fail.
There are many systems that are available to provide monitoring and alerting services for backup jobs. You must keep a close eye on your backups; otherwise you will find yourself in a very bad situation one day.
This is why Datto has implemented screenshot verifications for their users. This ensures that the backups are operating as designed and the users have peace of mind that their critical data is being saved in case of a disaster.
5. Backups are Not Kept Offsite
It is very common for data backups to be kept onsite, in the same physical location of the systems that are being backed up. While this practice is acceptable for some types of system failures (hardware failure, software corruption, etc.), it is a terrible idea for other types of failures. For example, if your building floods or burns – and your servers are severely damaged – do you think the backup media that was located right next to those servers will also be damaged? YES, IT WILL BE! For this reason, it is important to keep at least one copy of your data backups offsite, at a different physical location.
Not only will the Datto backup all your data to the device itself, but it will also backup everything to 2 separate offsite cloud storage locations. So in the event that the local device is destroyed, you can still access your information, even from a remote location.
6. There is Insufficient Capacity for Backups
The backup job is 400GB, but your backup tape or drive is only 300GB. Capacity issues have a tendency to create sloppy and incomplete backup jobs. It is imperative that your backup media be sized and provisioned to not only support your current backup needs, but also allow for some element of growth over time.
Need help determining you backup size? A simple Capacity Planning exercise conducted by a Databranch engineer could be incredibly important to your overall backup strategy. Click here to request a meeting with one of our highly trained team members.
7. There is No Documented Disaster Recovery Plan
Often we see backup jobs that are working very well. Critical data is being backed up at regular intervals which support organizational RTO and RPO requirements. Then, disaster strikes. There is a power outage that fries the server, the network room floods, the building burns down, etc.
A backup job is only successful if data can be easily and quickly recovered. You need to have a recovery procedure documented! Typically this is in the form of a Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan. The plan should include important procedural steps involved in recovering lost data and should also indicate who is responsible for performing those steps once a disaster is declared.
If you choose to not have a documented DR Plan, then recovering from a disaster will be chaotic and frustrating at best! At worst? A disaster could cost you business thousands of dollars and could possibly cost you the business itself.
Interested in calculating the cost of downtime for your business? Check out our Recovery Time Calculator here.
8. There is No Process to Add or Remove Items from the Backup Scope
As new servers, applications and data repositories are added to your computing environment – they also need to be added to your backup job(s). It is very important to have a documented Data Backup Policy that outlines the process for adding or deleting components of the data backup job(s).
Without a policy, new systems may or may not be integrated into the backup job(s) effectively and old systems may never get removed. Once you have a great data backup job, you want it to stay great. This requires governance and oversight typically provided by good policies and procedures.
9. Backups are Not Tested; People are Not Trained
Data backup job(s) absolutely, positively need to be tested at least once a year – if not more frequently. A true test is the only way to verify that critical information can be restored if needed. More importantly, people (employees, vendors, etc.) should all be educated on the restore process, especially if they play a critical role in restoring lost or corrupted data. A common and effective way to provide this training is by conducting routine Table Top exercises where DR scenarios are presented to the recovery team and they have an opportunity to respond – without creating any service disruptions
Backup and Recovery Solutions
Avoid these common pitfalls and be confident in your ability to recover from most cyber security incidents. Invest in defense, and also in resiliency. Our backup recovery and disaster recovery solution ensures that your data is restored to its former state, with little to no downtime or interruption to your business.
Databranch monitors the success of every backup, and if there’s an issue, we’ll take care of it for you as part of the service. With a commitment to continually improve and serve, Databranch employees regularly go above and beyond to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Reach out to us today at 716-373-4467 x115 or info@databranch.com, you can rest assured that your data is in good hands.
Article used with permission from Cyberstone.
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