By Keith Savino
With cyber risk growing for small businesses, the insurance industry should cooperate on cybersecurity.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance reports that small and midsize businesses are “easy targets” for cybercriminals. Small firms represent 58% of cybercrime victims, according to SCORE, a business mentoring group funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration. And, according to SCORE, “60% of small and medium businesses are forced to suspend operations and, in many cases, never reopen” after they experience a cyberattack.
That’s why it’s critical that all industries prioritize effective cybersecurity — and the insurance business is no exception.
Our industry’s reputation is grounded in client trust. Besides its people, trust may be an insurance agency’s most important asset. Trust is key to maintaining client relationships, which drive an agency’s value. A data breach that compromises our clients’ proprietary and personal information could erode that trust and prove to be debilitating to our business.
Collectively, carriers, agents and technology partners should work together to improve cyber security and efficiency. Let’s cooperate and not compete on security.
The industry has taken many steps to improve cybersecurity and protect consumer information through both secure and efficient processes and tools, such as multifactor authentication (MFA).
State regulators also are increasingly requiring …
