Professionals from all industries who have access to the personal data of their clients need to protect that sensitive data at all times. These types of situations are particularly vulnerable when a professional is traveling and using laptops or telephones via public WiFi in hotels, airports, or coffee shops. Criminals or even amateur hackers have many sophisticated methods of installing malware on computers or compromising accounts, and there have been numerous scandals around the world where highly sensitive data, including governmental and medical records, were stolen. In today's modern world of technology, there's software that can easily run in the background and gain access to your computer through public internet services.
Data protection is very serious, as not only is the victim’s privacy compromised, but his or her details can be used for criminal purposes such as credit card fraud, identity theft, and other scams and schemes. If you are regularly storing your client or customer's payment or personal information, you have a business liability to consider. The organizations who fail to safeguard the sensitive details of their clients, whether by negligence or by employees divulging this information, are subject to significant fines and penalties, and they may well be sued by one or more of the clients whose data were compromised. Cyber security is a bang for buck policy add on for your general liability policy that can cover any cyber security coverage holes in your other business insurance policies.
There are numerous best practice measures that can be utilized while professionals are traveling in order to protect their clients’ information. Some suggestions of these include:
- Having mobile hotspots enabled on cell phones, as these networks are significantly more secure than public WiFi.
- Ensuring that laptops, cell phones, e-mail and file-sharing systems are secure and encrypted.
- Never leaving laptops in a car unless locked in a trunk.
- Having ‘remote wiping’ capability in case a phone or laptop is lost or stolen.
- Monitoring company data through the use of data-leakage prevention software.
- Educating all employees on methods of safeguarding data and the serious consequences of failing to utilize them.
- Instituting a response strategy in case a breach of data occurs.
- Having an adequate cyber liability insurance policy which covers the compromise of clients’ data.
No amount of preparation can help you in the event of a breach, if you haven't heard about cyber insurance before, reach out to us. Contact us for information on cyber liability insurance in Colorado at (888) 279-9701 or fill out the short form below.