The Big I Virginia Summer 2020

CYBER: IT’S NOT JUST FOR THE BIG GUYS
Sponsored by CNA
Despite high-profile stories of
companies getting hacked, many
still make the mistake of thinking it
won’t happen to them. Here are a
few common cyber myths – and how
you can combat them when offering
cyber coverage to your commercial
clients.
MYTH: Cyber coverage is
just about hackers.
“Cyber” is one of the biggest
misnomers in the insurance world
because it implies that this type
of coverage only pertains to your
network and the data on it. Not true.
26 THE BIG VIRGINIA SUMMER 2020
“The forms we sell address any
type of confidential information
in your possession, regardless of
format,” says Katie Wilson, CNA vice
president, underwriting. “It could
be paper documents, a lost laptop
or an employee sending an email to
the wrong place—none of which has
anything to do with someone hacking
into your network.”
MYTH: As long as your
network is protected,
you’re safe.
It’s not just about protecting the
data – it’s also about educating
your employees. In the cyber age,
everyone is a risk manager. Nick Graf,
director of risk control at CNA, notes
that one of the carrier’s differentiators
is the guidance clients receive on
information security policies.
“Employees can be the strongest
asset or the weakest link,” Graf says.
“The majority of these attacks usually
start with some sort of employee
mistake – opening an attachment,
sending a file unencrypted.”
That means training employees about
cyber risks is critical.