As small businesses have recently adopted new technology and expanded their networks to facilitate remote work, cyberattacks over the last two years have jumped 152 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported June 7.
While small businesses were targeted more often due to more lax web security defenses, large organizations saw a 75 percent increase in cyberattacks over the same period.
The article has a few warnings for small ASC businesses:
- Many small businesses' insurance excludes coverage in the event of a cyberattack.
- Pricing for small-business cyber insurance has gone up between 10 percent and 15 percent annually since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Many small businesses are being turned away because of tighter underwriting requirements, for example, requiring two-factor authentication.
- Insurers may require small businesses to encrypt backup data and create a response plan in the event of a cyberattack.
A less expensive cyber insurance option for small businesses is to purchase a policy from technology companies that sell insurance, known as insurtechs.
All in all, the risk for data breaches among small businesses has risen dramatically, and the financial repercussions of cyberattacks are something to consider for businesses of all sizes, the Journal reported.