A Presidio client was one of the over 200 victims of a recent cybersecurity breach that targeted American companies during the July 4th holiday. As recently as a few months ago, the client was unprotected from cyber-attacks, but fortunately for them, their Presidio Account Executive, Shirin Shakeri, noticed that they did not have cybersecurity coverage and recommended that they add it to their current insurance policy. The result: the client added cybersecurity which included additional coverage for ransomware attacks and was insured against the attack.
REvil’s July 4th Attack
The ransomware attack was carried out by a Russian ransomware syndicate, REvil, by targeting a software supplier and spreading the ransomware through cloud-services. The software company, Kaseya, quickly urged customers to shut down affected servers, but REvil’s ransomware was activated in many counts, allowing REvil to steal confidential data that they can use to extort the companies. Palo Alto Networks found that the average ransom payment to REvil last year was about $500,000.
What Can Businesses Do to Protect Themselves?
Due to the highly confidential patient information physician medical offices and healthcare providers have on their computers there is no wonder why these facilities are such a target for hackers. Cyber Liability & Data Breach insurance cover businesses from the costly losses that can occur from these attacks.
Coverage includes access to experienced breach response partners that can assist in meeting lawful obligations and communicating to those who may be affected by a cyber threat, breach or theft of personally identifiable information entrusted to the practice. Cyber Liability coverage also includes access to assistance for practices in preparing for a breach by helping ensure proper security measures are taken before there is an incident. These services help practices develop appropriate privacy and network policies and procedures, employee training, identify and manage company assets, incident response planning and network security.
Many businesses already have cybersecurity coverage as an addition to their Business Owners Policy or General Liability coverage. Businesses unsure of their coverage should call their insurance agent to confirm what their insurance includes or to add Cybersecurity to their policy.
Information on Cyber-liability Coverage
More information on the ransomware attack