Did you know that in 2017, cyber attacks cost small and medium sized businesses an average of $2.3 million? Average malware-related costs for small and medium-sized businesses included $1,027,053 due to damage or theft of IT assets, and $1,207,965 due to disruption to normal business operations. 92.4 percent of malware is delivered to businesses via email. Cyber attacks on businesses are becoming so common that they are rarely talked about.
Hacker Cripples Florida City Computer Systems
On June 20th, the Palm Beach Post reported that the city council in Riviera Beach, Florida, voted to pay nearly $600,000 to hackers who crippled the city’s computer systems with a ransomware attack. After paying the ransom money, Riviera Beach received a decryption key to restore its network and devices.
The attack began last month when an employee in the 35,000-resident city’s police department opened an email containing a piece of malware. The virus quickly spread throughout the municipal government, disabling the city’s official website, municipal employees’ emails, voice-over-internet-protocol phones and the local water utility’s ability to take online payments. It also forced workers in the city’s 911 dispatch center to record caller information on paper.
Baltimore Ransomware Attack Costs Over $18 Million
In early May, Baltimore’s city government computer systems were infected with an aggressive ransomware called, RobbinHood, which encrypted hard drive data to prevent access. The infected computers were demanded payments of 13 bitcoin, which totals over $75,000, for their users to regain access to their files. This ransomware attack affected hospitals, factories producing vaccines, airports, and bank ATMs. Last week, Baltimore Mayor Bernard Young estimated the cleanup of the attack would cost $18 million.
Atlanta Spent $2.6 Million To Recover From a $52,000 Ransomware Scare
In April 2018, Wired reported that the city of Atlanta spent more than $2.6 million on emergency efforts to respond to a ransomware attack that destabilized municipal operations a month prior. The attackers asked for a ransom of roughly $50,000 in bitcoin. In response, Atlanta’s Department of Procurement made eight emergency contracts in less than two weeks. This cost a total of $2,667,328.
Cyber Attack Statistics
Cyber hackers don’t just target big cities and businesses. They target small businesses as well. Did you know that 55% of small businesses have experienced a data breach, and 53% have experienced multiple breaches? Here are a few statistics regarding cyber attacks on small businesses:
- 43 percent of cyber criminals attack small businesses.
- 14 percent of small businesses rate their ability to mitigate cyber risks as highly effective.
- 60 percent of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack.
- 48 percent of data security breaches are caused by acts of malicious intent — human error or system failure account for the rest.
How to Protect Your Business
Whether you own a large corporation or a small business, (or something in between) you should know about cyber insurance.
Cyber insurance covers your business for risks relating to information technology infrastructure and activities and from data breaches involving sensitive customer and employee information. Insurance companies continue to update policies as new threats emerge and hackers evolve quickly.
Cyber Liability Insurance
While it would be nice if you had millions to invest in protecting your data and a team of cyber experts working to protect your systems, most people simply cannot afford that. This is why it is so important to protect yourself and your business from cyber exposures with insurance protection designed to do just that. Protect yourself, your business and its customers and employees by taking steps now to reduce your cyber exposure and risks. For a complimentary consultation of your cyber liability risks and to learn more about how to reduce them, including being protected with cyber liability insurance in NYC, get a cyber insurance quote.
