According to the FBI, cybercrime is now ranked as the number one law enforcement concern. Anthem Health recently had a data breach and lost 80 million records of current and former customers. Sony Pictures was recently hacked and it caused them to cancel a movie release. Churches are at risk too.

Welcome To The Next Generation Of Loss

Cyber Liability continues to be a major issue for many churches. In today’s data-driven social media world, churches of all sizes have had a cyber-attack or data breach. Statistics show that 40% of all cyber incidents affect churches with fewer than 100 employees. According to Business Insurance, a small business now has a greater chance of a cyber-breach than it does of having a fire.

Cyber Myths and Facts

“If I have a data breach I can just call my menbers.”  Myth – New laws now require you to provide written notification and even provide identity theft coverage for a period of time. A data breach could cost you up to $250 per individual breach. The government can also fine you if they feel you have not taken appropriate actions.

“Only large companies need the coverage.”  Myth – Businesses and churches with fewer than 50 employees are the latest targets of cyber thieves. Often small businesses fail to have adequate protection making them an easy target. Companies with less than 75 employees endured 70% of the total attacks.

“Traditional business liability insurance will cover cyber liability.”  Myth – Traditional liability insurance does not cover your business for internet exposure or data breach. Brotherhood Mutual has coverage, but you may need more.

“We don’t use the internet for church business and therefore don’t have any exposure.”  Myth –According to the 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, 13% of all data breaches that occurred were caused by an employee or other internal source.

“My church does not store credit card information; therefore I don’t have any risk.”  Myth – Confidential information is defined as any kind of personal information including addresses, email, social security numbers, Federal ID numbers, family member information, bank information and more.

Cyber liability coverage has evolved from insurance for information technology companies, to coverage that nearly every kind of business should have.  All types of businesses including retailers, banks, contractors, distributors, restaurants and medical offices, are often unaware of the severe data breach exposure they face. In short, any business not making an effort to protect personal private information is seriously out of step with the emerging landscape of privacy law.

We will be offering a number of articles on this subject over the next few months including; cyber risk prevention and personal identity theft issues.

Tags: cyber

This entry was posted on February 27, 2015 at 4:16 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Church Insurance Church Risk Church Safety by Scott Stuart Comments Off on Cyber Liability; Exploring Your Risk