Halting the hackers

About 80% of UK businesses are dependent upon their IT systems for day-to-day operations, according to the Government’s Information Security Breaches Survey 2008. The costs of even temporary damage to these systems can be severe. Hiscox Hacker Insurance gives companies peace of mind by covering a wide range of losses related to online risks.

Alan Thomas, Hiscox’s UK Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms, highlights three different types of online risk: malicious damage by hackers; the loss of sensitive data due to mistakes made by company employees; and viral attacks that result in systems malfunctioning.

Alan has detected a growing trend of malicious hacker activity in the UK, with 96% of businesses with more than 500 staff reporting an average of 400 security incidents each in 2008.

Any of these risks can have far-reaching consequences. “Firstly, the damage to the system will need repairing,” Alan points out. “Then the system will need investigating to find its weaknesses and prevent the problem from recurring. Finally, it may take time and money to re-establish the company’s reputation.”

Identifying the threats
Hiscox Hacker Insurance for Technology, Media and Telecoms clients can provide cover for all these situations. “The main part of the cover is for repairing damage to systems,” says Alan, “but Hiscox also pays for a security consultant to assess the company’s electronic security, for a forensic consultant to find out the hacker’s identity and for a public relations firm to repair any damage to the business’s reputation.”

As technology develops, so too do the risks associated with it – and Hiscox’s team of underwriters take a proactive approach to investigating and identifying the specific threats that companies face. As Alan points out: “The launch of Hiscox Hacker Insurance is proof of how Hiscox responds to technology risks as they evolve.”