What is a cyber breach?
A cyber breach is when an unauthorized individual or organization gains the ability to view, access, or retrieve data from another individual or organization. Cyber breaches typically involve stealing data to share with others, or stealing data and holding it for ransom. Cyber breaches are also known as data breaches, leaks, or spills.
Do small businesses need cyber risk insurance?
There’s a common misconception among small business owners that cyber criminals are only interested in large corporations. The truth is, smaller companies tend to be easier to hack because they lack the resources and protective barriers of larger ones, and are sometimes targeted as a point of entry to gain access to more sizable vendors or customers.
In many cases, the smaller your business is, the worse the implications of a loss can be.
Cyber risk insurance is particularly important for entrepreneurs who rely on computers and technology for their services. Regardless of your industry, if you provide services in a digital capacity, rely on a computer for your business, or collect any type of customer data and financial records, cyber event expense coverage should be a key ingredient in your small business insurance policy.
Examples of cyber breaches
Hackers are becoming savvier, making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to defend themselves from a data breach. If a cyber attacker is able to gain access to your computer, network or other electronic system, they may be able to steal client information, employee information, accounting information and other valuable data from you.
Having the right coverage in place can help in the following scenarios:
- An employee receives a fraudulent email from a hacker posing as their manager, requesting their login details to the company’s customer relationship management (CRM) system. The hacker then gains access to your company’s private information including customer information, client information or employee information, and threatens to sell or disclose it.
- After a long weekend, employees return to their computers to find that electronic data on their company’s computer system has been encrypted, preventing authorized access to anyone.
- Running to their next meeting, an employee leaves their briefcase in a cab, losing their mobile device and paperwork containing confidential customer information.
- A hacker forcibly interrupts or threatens to interrupt your company’s computer system, also known as a denial of service attack.

What does cyber risk insurance cover?
After suffering from a cyber breach, you’d look to your cyber risk insurance for assistance. It may be able to help with expenses associated with managing the hack, such as incident response expenses, data recovery expenses, and public relations services.
In addition to the coverage provided through their cyber risk insurance, TruShield customers also have access to support services provided by CyberScout, a leading data risk management service provider. This service includes consultation on proactive measures to protect your business from cyber threats, as well as reactive assistance should you suffer a breach through services such as crisis management, notification assistance, and media relations consulting.
The service also gives customers access to CyberScout’s website, which provides data protection tips, data breach regulations, encryption guides, and templates that can help you form an incident response plan.