What is Cyber Crime and Cyber Risk Insurance?

Cyber risk insurance is designed to cover the losses relating to damage to, or loss of information from, IT systems and networks. Businesses are choosing cyber insurance policies to supplement their existing insurance arrangements, particularly if they:

• Hold or manage personal data
• Rely heavily on IT systems
• Process card payment information 

Do I need Cyber Risk Insurance?

No matter what the size of your business is, it's likely you will rely on information technology infrastructure to some degree.  If so, your business or organisation could face exposure to the risks of business interruption, income loss and damage, if IT equipment or systems fail or are interrupted.

Am I at risk of cybercrime?

Yes, If you use the internet then you are at risk of cybercrime. Criminal groups target individuals, small businesses and large corporations in order to steal your personal information to profit from the compromised data. The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) lists the following as common cybercrime:

Common cyber threats

Consumers

• Phishing: bogus emails asking for security information and personal details
• Webcam manager: where criminals take over your webcam
• File hijacker: where criminals hijack files and hold them to ransom
• Keylogging: where criminals record what you type on your keyboard
• Screenshot manager: allows criminals take screenshots of your computer screen
• Ad clicker: allows a criminal to direct a victim’s computer to click a specific link

Recent cybercrime threats

The British Telegraph newspaper described the latest Ransomware attack on the National Health Service (NHS) as "The biggest ransomware offensive in history".

"More than 300,000 computers were infected while the countries most affected by a virus named WannaCry were Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine and India, according to Czech security firm Avast".