Page 35 - SAM September 2019

BUSINESS

spond to these types of incidents. cyber security expert is beyond their budget. This opens such busi-
Data breaches can be expensive and are difficult to avoid. In a nesses up to be an easy target for cyber criminals.
recent study, more than 50% of small to mid-sized businesses sur- According to Patrick Theilen, SVP at Chubb, “Cyber criminals
veyed stated they faced a cyber-security attack, and the average cost typically don’t target specific small businesses, but they increas-
of a data breach has increased to a staggering $5.9 million! ingly use tools that target the vulnerabilities of small businesses.
As data breach consequences grow, leaders must understand their Those vulnerabilities are sometimes technical, like unpatched
data security risk. Companies face increased scrutiny from regula- software or poorly configured hardware. Even more commonly,
tors, litigants, business partners, and their customers so leaders must those vulnerabilities are simply employees who may use weak or
make timely data security decisions. A data security strategy helps compromised passwords, or may inadvertently click something
leaders make risk-informed decisions before their actions are re- they shouldn’t have.”
viewed after a breach. All medical businesses face their own types of cyber risks, and
while they may not be completely avoidable, having a prevention
Why Small & Mid-Sized Practices Are at Risk plan, educating your employees, and proper cyber liability insurance
We hear about large-scale cyber incidents on the news all the time, coverage can protect your practice from the financial and opera-
but cyber criminals are focusing more and more of their efforts on tional dangers of a cyber security breach.
small and mid-sized businesses. According to Chubb, 62% of all
cyber breach victims are small and midsize enterprises (SME’s). Ex- Maria Martinez, CLU, ChFC is a cyber security specialist with SWBC
perts expect that this trend will continue to rise. and a Circle of Friends member. She can be contacted at (210) 376-3478
One reason that cyber criminals are increasingly hitting SME’s is or maria.martinez@swbc.com.
that many smaller operations do not have dedicated cyber security
teams, and mistakenly believe that the expense of onboarding a

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