Consultations:
Did you know that 43% of all cyberattacks in the U.S. happen to small and medium-sized businesses?
Unfortunately, despite the increase in frequency, only 14% of business owners surveyed feel prepared to defend against an incident, according to Accenture’s Cost of Cybercrime Study. In fact, 45% of businesses admitted that their current cyber protection processes are ineffective.
When it comes to mitigating a cyberattack, being prepared is key. The best place to start is with a cyber incident response plan (CIRP).
What is a CIRP?
Like a checklist for winterizing your home before freezing temperatures set in, a CIRP can help your business be better prepared to mitigate the damaging effects of a cyberattack. Acting as a procedural manual, a CIRP outlines processes to aid a business in identifying, responding to, and recovering from an incident. By proactively tackling eventual cyberthreats, a business can better reduce downtime and minimize the financial and reputational damages caused by viruses, hacker activities and breaches.
The Risk of Waiting
The time to implement a CIRP is now. According to Techopedia, even a small security breach can have an enormous impact on a small business’s operations. Acting immediately will empower you to better contain or reduce the impact of a cyberattack.
Conclusion
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a CIRP helps everyone understand their role and the steps to take in the event of an attack. Doing so allows the business to act swiftly and minimize damage. Once under control, procedures can immediately be implemented to help it recover.
Businesses are exposed to cyber risks every day. Cyber insurance provides protection against the costs associated with security breaches, business email compromise, social engineering, ransomware, malware, viruses, etc. Oakwood D&O can help determine the best coverage for your operation – whether you’re a small-business owner or managing a large corporation.
Stay tuned! My next article will review how to get started on creating your own CIRP plan to protect your business.
Get in touch with Eli Solomon, CEO, at eli@oakwooddno.com or call (323) 686-7519.
