Does your company need cyber insurance? While high-profile cyber attacks on firms such as Marks & Spencer generate most of the headlines, there is a much broader cyber crime epidemic going on. Around 42% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK have experienced a cyber attack or breach over the past 12 months. The impact can be devastating. Transport company KNP last month announced it was closing down after almost 160 years in business following a cyber attack that left it locked out of its own IT systems. The damage caused proved too much for the firm to recover from. Data from BT suggests the average cost of a serious breach to a small business is just short of £8,000, but in many cases, the bill will be substantially higher.

Moreover, while costs such as restoring systems and the interruption to business may be easy to quantify, additional expenses such as reputational damage can be large and unknowable. A data breach could also leave your firm vulnerable to sanctions from the Information Commissioner’s Office: it can fine businesses up to 4% of their global turnover for transgressions.

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