quickest and easiest reward and cause the most disruption but as defenders , we need to be ready to react at any moment .

Cyberinsurance for SMEs

While the threat of cyberattacks is very real for small enterprises , according to a recent study , almost 30 % of SMEs cancelled their cyberinsurance policies in 2021 in order to save money . Rising by 92 % in the UK in the final quarter of last year and continuing to skyrocket through 2022 , premiums are fast becoming unaffordable for small and medium-sized businesses . Worryingly , this trend is showing no signs of stopping , with research from Panaseer earlier this year identifying that 82 % of cyberinsurers across the UK and US are expecting the rise in premiums to continue .

To overcome this issue , cyberinsurers are calling for more direct access to customer security metrics and measures proving the status of security controls . Yet these metrics and measures will only support businesses if they are being proactive with their cybersecurity . This includes ensuring threat detection and response services – like a managed SIEM – and end-point protection solutions are in place and optimised .

small , Business Continuity plans and Incident Response ( IR ) playbooks will play a huge role in supporting remediation and allowing businesses to get back on their feet , serving customers again as quickly as possible . Without these in place , it can take up to four weeks to get back up and running , which isn ’ t viable for a customer-facing business .

Part of this remediation planning must also include maintaining a suite of backups – both small and frequent , on a daily basis , as well as full backups stored on a separate encrypted network . This will ensure that recovery time in the event of an attack is kept to a minimum .

Ultimately , a strong cybersecurity strategy is a big ask for internal IT teams of small businesses that are often already overstretched . Therefore , for support in monitoring for threats , boosting employee awareness and recovering from an attack , outsourcing to a security partner is the best bet for SMEs . With cyberinsurance premiums so high and showing no sign of decreasing , relying on a partner can reassure insurers that your security is in safe hands , thus reducing premium costs and better preparing your organisation for the worst . �

CYBERSECURITY IS STILL NOT A PRIORITY FOR MANY SMALLER COMPANIES .

Insurers also recognise the importance of prioritising education and implementing regular security awareness training to ensure employees understand that they are just as much of a risk as an unpatched vulnerability . For smaller businesses with fewer resources , this is one area of cyber that shouldn ’ t create a significant drain on budgets . Instead , it is more about changing culture , perceptions and understanding of cybersecurity . Measures such as consistent staff training and phishing simulations can be implemented , monitored and evidenced easily – helping to promote a company-wide ‘ security-first ’ mindset – while information around the latest security risks and scams should be shared regularly across the team .

When a breach occurs

So , what about when SMEs fall victim to an attack ? In cybersecurity it is no longer a case of ‘ if ’, but ‘ when ’ – meaning preparing for the inevitable is key . For organisations both big and

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