No company, big or small, is immune to a data breach. Many small employers falsely believe they can elude the attention of a hacker, yet studies have shown the opposite is true—a growing number of companies with fewer than 100 employees are reporting data breaches every year.

Data breach response policies are essential for organizations of any size. A response policy should outline how your company will respond in the event of a data breach, and lay out an action plan that will be used to investigate potential breaches to mitigate damage should a breach occur. Not all companies have the resources to create and implement a fully customized plan. However, there are many simple, cost-effective steps any business can take to help prevent a data breach.

Consider the following when implementing risk management strategies at your organization:

  1. Create a formal, documented risk management plan that addresses the scope, roles, responsibilities, compliance criteria and methodology for performing cyber risk assessments.
  2. Review the cyber risk plan on an annual basis and update it whenever there are significant changes to your information systems, the facilities where systems are stored or other conditions that may affect the impact of risk to the organization.
  3. Never give sensitive information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers out over the phone unless you can verify the identity of the person on the other line.
  4. Shred all credit reports and other sensitive data before disposal.
  5. Educate employees about phishing and pharming scams. Remind them not to click on anything that looks suspicious or seems too good to be true.
  6. Hire an outside company to set up the proper security measures for your computer network if your company doesn’t have an IT department.
  7. Always monitor credit reports and other financial data for the company. If you see things that don’t belong, investigate.
  8. Do not allow employees to write down passwords in the office.
  9. Always encrypt sensitive data.

New technological exposures continue to emerge. As your business grows, it’s important to make sure your cyber liability coverage grows with it. And that’s where we can help.