Take these steps to help reduce your cyber liability risk

With cybercrime and data breaches increasing at an alarming rate in the UK, basic risk management can help to stop or reduce your exposure in suffering an incident.

We recommend that all businesses take steps to review and implement procedures to help minimise the chances of a data loss happening.

15 tips to manage your cyber risk

  1. Develop and implement an IT policy which provides rules and guidelines to staff on the acceptable use of hardware, peripherals and software.
  2. Educate Employees – develop and implement robust policy and procedures that staff must follow when dealing with sensitive information.
  3. Implement a social media policy on the do and don’t when using social media sites.
  4. Implement a system of regular policy enforcement, at least annually, to remind staff of the guidelines and rules.
  5. Prepare and maintain an inventory for company hardware and peripherals – make sure this includes serial numbers, employees using the device and what their use / authorised access is.
  6. Back up files on a regular basis and store copies in a safe location, or off site. Also make sure you test them on a regular basis to make sure they are working effectively.
  7. For remote workers, make sure that your staff are compliant with your computer policy and backups and virus checks are carried out on a regular basis.
  8. Remind employees not to leave computers / laptops or mobile devices unattended whilst away from your premises unless these are in a secure location.
  9. Passwords – make sure staff use alphanumeric passwords and that they do not write them down anywhere.
  10. Install antivirus and firewall software on your system and update it regularly.
  11. Contractor / Supplier vetting – if third parties have access to your network, or hold sensitive information on your behalf, carry out checks to make sure they have adequate security policies in place to prevent loss of data or cyber-attacks.
  12. Physical security – make sure you have adequate protection at your premises, including intruder alarms, access restrictions, locks etc.
  13. IT System Security – make sure business critical information, personal identifiable information (PII) and data are secured and encrypted on your network.
  14. Create a Business Continuity plan which includes procedures for maintaining data, backups and security.
  15. Create a breach preparedness plan which includes how to deal with the recovery of the business systems, media and public relations strategies to manage crisis communications and notification to individuals / organisations whose data may have been lost / stolen.

Introducing Cyber AMI for BJP customers

BJP Insurance Brokers have partnered with Cyber AMI to offer a low cost online solution to help you improve your organisations information security practices.   Cyber AMI is the cyber security education and audit platform for small to medium sized businesses.

Their platform helps organisations understand what cyber threats exist, identify where they may be vulnerable, and provides practical advice and solutions that help reduce their risk.

If you have any of these questions, Cyber AMI will be of assistance to your business:

  • What is cyber risk?
  • How could it affect my organisation?
  • Are our staff appropriately trained?
  • Do our team have the right tools for the job?
  • Is our organisation taking the right precautions?

Clients of BJP Insurance Brokers are entitled to use the platform for one-month free of charge. The service costs £25 +VAT per month thereafter on a monthly rolling contract.

To find out more information, please contact Dean Spurdens on 0345 365 2121, e-mail [email protected] or register with Cyber AMI and get your first month’s service free.