Cyber Security is Not Just for Businesses!

Video games seem to be building in popularity over the past 10 years or so. Back when gamers could play for a while with friends or on their own, and parents of young children could trust they were safe from all harm. Over time and with the development of online gaming, the security risks have increased nearly exponentially.

In a recent article by Computer Business Review, they discuss how a lack in cyber security left EA, and millions of its player accounts, open to hijacking and loss of their personal information. The unfortunate issue that is some people may never know that they have been hacked. The virus or hacker may lay dormant for long periods of time, keeping track of every click, purchase, and passcode you input.

It can be a scary thought when everything you do is being tracked, or worse, you get locked out of your own account permanently, and someone has all your personal data.

Cyber Insurance is the extra step before, during, and after a cyber attack. Let’s break this down into a more physical example. Imagine you just bought your house. How would you protect it? A good first defense against a break-in might be a fence around your property, to dissuade any criminals from choosing your house as the target. Most people would also lockup their house and close any blinds or curtains at night. These are all basic preventative measures we take to try to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our belongings safe before the incident.

This is the same as making sure you use a secured wifi network, hide your password while typing it, and lock your laptop when you leave the desk.

Now let’s discuss what homeowners would do in the occurrence of a house break-in. Are you home, and still inside the house? You may act differently than if you happened to be out on vacation when the break-in happened. The initial reaction of most people is to pick up the phone and call 9-1-1. You call in professionals to deal with the problem going on in the house. This is the step we take to deal with the incident during the problem.

So what about with a cyber attack? Do you panic and shut your laptop until you can take it to the nearest IT support? Or do you do as the attacker asks and allow them to keep collecting data?

After such a horrible experience, you need to make sure you are protected from this happening again. There are some questions you can ask when deciding what additional steps to take in protected you and your family. Do you have a security camera? A motion detecting light above the garage door? Or how about an alarm system which you activate when you leave the house or are sleeping in case a window or a door is opened without permission.

The same security measures can be taken with your cyber security. Spending the extra couple bucks to get protection before, during, and after an attack, could be the difference between you or your company taking a slight hit and moving on, and your company not getting back up. No one is immune, but there are options.

You should call Case Insurance Brokers to discuss what type of cyber insurance is right for you and your business.