On this episode of Beers with Bad Guys, we focus on Cyber Insurance. Every Friday we get a phone call from a company that is in great duress. Then four hours later, their insurance company calls and says they will handle the situation themselves. Now we have listed our pros and cons for getting cyber Insurance.
PROS
Getting cyber insurance can greatly benefit you because it is relatively inexpensive to buy the insurance policy. It is just one phone call, kind of like a one stop shop. That way you have legal, crisis management and incident response in one place. Then you get broad coverage with your networks and fund transfer. Your cyber insurance company will test your firewall and other security measures before they even issue your policy. They could potentially pay the ransom if you ever get hacked. The cyber insurance company will try and get you up and running quickly if you ever get hacked. Lastly, they may cover your own stupidity. So if you are the reason why your network was hacked they will still likely cover you.
CONS
Your cyber insurance company could attach a premium growing 10-20% per year which could make your payments quite expensive. You definitely need to read your specific insurance policy because none of them are the same and you have so many options. If you get cyber insurance you will have a stranger in your network. Their hacker will come in and may not even care about your particular network or situation. The policy could have limited coverage and limited coverage hours. If your particular problem takes a long time to fix, they could possibly say that it was not all covered. They could also deny your coverage after you submit your claim. We could be contacted by your insurance company anyways as a third party remediation. Lastly, the policy does not usually include new hardware. They likely will not replace your laptops or servers that were hacked.
Questions
Who do I call?
-Call your attorney first to find out your coverage.
-There is usually a 1-800 number associated with your account.
How long to get unlocked?
-10 days to 2 weeks to get an initial handle on the situation.
-It could even take up to two months.
-Everything stops no payroll, nothing to do for your employees.
Panel vendor?
-Is a company that is approved by your insurance company for you to use to figure out the problem.
