Cyber security: How to keep yourself safe from cyber criminals

According to some of the latest statistics, South Africa has the third highest number of cybercrime victims in the world and haemorrhages R2.2 billion as a result. Cybercrime affects businesses of all kinds, and the rise of hybrid work and remote work has made companies more vulnerable than ever.

This is why investing in cyber security insurance has never been more important.

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Philippa Wild, Head: Commercial Underwriting from Santam says, “The average small business hack can cost your company anywhere between R50 000 to R250 000 to recover from and that number can rise exponentially with larger businesses.”

“Protecting yourself is not as simple as updating your antivirus software. You need adequate cover and robust risk mitigation strategies if you want to operate your business with true piece of mind.”

Check Your Cybercrime Insurance Cover

It’s crucial to have the right cybercrime insurance cover in place. It must combine risk management services and insurance to cover business interruption costs, ransomware, forensic costs and whatever else your business may need.

Innovation in the insurance industry has more momentum than ever before, which is just as well because the rising complexity of the emerging risks we face, requires a commitment to innovation.

Safety Checks for Your Business Against Cybercriminals

Hacks can potentially bankrupt a business. With the average monthly cybercrime insurance premium generally costing less than R1000, insulating yourself from the worst effects of cybercrime does not have to be prohibitively expensive. Other steps you can take to protect your business include:

• Create a Security Policy: Keep an eye out for news reports on the most common cyber threats. Be sure to stress the dangers of cybercrime to your employees and to constantly refresh their memories about the most important things they can do to protect your business. Warn them about common tricks, urge them to create strong passwords and remind them to regularly change passwords. Encourage them to ask if something feels a bit off. Be wary of links from external websites.
• Passwords: Ensure staff choose strong passwords and change them regularly. A strong password is at least 10 characters long and includes symbols and numbers. You can use password generators to instantly create secure and random passwords.
• Be Careful with Software Installations: Have strict protocols about what can be installed on company computers without authorisation to increase your computer security.
• Install a Firewall and Anti-Virus Software: These barriers have been designed to oppose spyware and virus and phishing attacks.
• Block Access to Restricted Sites with Internet Filters: This will prevent employees and hackers from uploading data to storage clouds.
• Keep Operating Systems, Software and Browsers Updated: Updates can be annoying, but they exist for a reason so always perform them. Called ‘patches’, they exist to fix vulnerabilities in the software you use that can be exploited by hackers or malware.

Knowledge is power when it comes to matters of cyber security.

Equip yourself as a business and protect and empower your people with the peace of mind that comes from cyber insurance.

For more information on cyber insurance, please visit https://www.santam.co.za/