Why Your Business Needs to Conduct Pre-Breach Planning

You walk into work assuming today will be a regular day of work.

You log onto your computer and proceed like normal.

As you’re working, ransomware suddenly pops up on your screen.

Your computer has been hacked, customer information has been stolen, and the only way to resolve the issue is to give the hacker the amount of money they’re requesting.

What do you do?

If you must ask this question, you’re facing an even bigger problem than the hack itself.

The question is not what you should do but how you can plan to minimize a data breach.

This is where pre-breach planning comes in.

There are two things you need to do when it comes to pre-breach planning: plan for how to avoid a data breach and plan for how to respond to a data breach.

You can do both by following these pre-breach planning tips:

• Train Your Employees— You can’t effectively plan for something you don’t understand or have any knowledge on. Train your employees on the ins and outs of cyber security and data breaches (how to recognize malware and phishing emails etc.) The more they know, the more prepared they will be to handle cyber attacks.
• Who’s in Your Data Breach Team? — Don’t forget to designate people to assist you in planning and responding to a data breach. Usually, these are the departments that you will need to include:
  1. IT
  2. Legal
  3. HR
  4. Communications/PR
• Encrypt, Encrypt, Encrypt! — Always remember to encrypt your data to the best of your ability. Aim for the strongest passwords and firewalls. Make it difficult for hackers to access your company’s information.
• Communicate with Third-Party Vendors— If your company is affiliated or partnered with third-party companies, you will need to make sure your data is protected with them as well. You may have to work together to ensure that hackers will not be able to access your personal information through your vendors.
• Protect Your Data— We know we’re stating the obvious here, but we can’t stress this enough. Determine what encryption methods and procedures are best for protecting your company’s data. You also need to consider the best ways for storing your data.
• Get Cyber Insurance— Don’t just get any form of cyber insurance. Get a policy that will specifically target your company’s risks and vulnerable areas.
• Work with a Pro— If you have questions about cyber security and data breaches, talk to a professional. We are here to help you determine the best ways to protect your company’s data.

Don’t let your company become a cyber statistic. Contact us today to see how we can help you with your pre-breach planning and find the cyber insurance policy that works best for you.