The year 1984 was the backdrop for many noteworthy events. You may be old enough to remember that the Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, the original Apple Macintosh ad aired for the first time, Prince dominated the charts with the release of Purple Rain, and the Detroit Tigers won the World Series. You may also be old enough to forget that 90 million Americans had their credit information exposed by a rogue Sears Roebuck & Co. employee in what is often considered the first major data breach of the modern era.
While the Sears data breach of 1984 was born from careless employees leaving passwords in plain view, the threats of today are highly sophisticated and more complex. For example, almost twenty years after the Sears breach, DSW Shoe Warehouse would become the victim of the first major online data breach in 2005. Since then, many industries have taken steps to mitigate the risks involved in an online consumer world. The insurance industry is no different, and many carriers today offer Cyber Liability Insurance to protect your business from the threat of data theft.
You may be thinking, “But Gary, I already have a general liability insurance policy!” That’s great, but that doesn’t cover your business in the event you or your customers’ sensitive data is illegally obtained, distributed, or used in an illegal or damaging way. Your general liability policy won’t cover the expenses and legal fees associated with such a claim, nor will it assist in the compensation of affected customers, recover any compromised data, or cover the costs of repairing systems damaged by such breaches, and myriad other expenses involved in these instances. So, what are your options?
Well, you have many options. You could ignore the threat and hope it never happens. You could hire a hacker to counter-hack any hacker who decided to hack you, but this isn’t a movie, and the threat of data breach isn’t going away any time soon. Your best bet? Look into a Cyber Liability policy today; make sure you and your customers are safe tomorrow.
As the world ventures deeper into the 21st century the need for businesses and organizations to safely connect with the public grows by the minute. From banking to shopping, healthcare to education and even the federal government, data breaches have occurred across every platform of industry in both public and private sectors. Whether it be the Department of Defense or the Dairy Queen up the road, bad actors have been able to wreak havoc for businesses and consumers at every level. As the world further embraces the technological advancements that help make life easier, we must also be prepared for the potential dangers that advance along with it. Is your data safe?
Take one step closer to peace of mind knowing your business and its data are protected. Call Insurance Strategies – The Cooksey Agency at 757-819-6896 today to chat with one of our staff about your potential cyber liability needs.