If you’re a business owner, a data breach can be devastating to your business. Not only can valuable trade secrets quickly become public knowledge, but so too may important records with personal information about your employees, clients, or patients be affected.
Data breaches can cost business owners dearly in cleanup efforts, lost business opportunities, and lawsuits. If your company is to experience a breach, however, it doesn’t have to be as devastating as it can possibly be.
There are ways to mitigate the impact of a data breach and protect your company’s liability, especially when you have a data breach response plan in place.
What Is a Data Breach Response Plan?
A data breach response plan contains the steps your company will take immediately after discovering a breach. Keep in mind that this will be a hectic time – you and your employees’ priorities should lay with properly executing this plan, which can interrupt your usual business. That said, the plan should help ensure that everyone will know what to do and how to do it when the time comes.
What Your Data Breach Response Plan Should Include
Your company’s data breach response plan should identify what a data breach is to your company. If you have an IT team or consultant, you can rely on their knowledge to help you craft this definition. Your plan should also identify who is responsible for responding to the data breach, what their tasks may include, and what steps will need to be taken.
Your data breach response plan should also help you answer the following questions:
- Who is making sure the plan is being carried out?
- How will the response team find the cause of the breach?
- What can be done to minimize the impact of the breach?
- What must happen to ensure a similar breach never occurs again?
- Who must know about the breach and how will they be informed?
How You Can Lessen the Blow of a Data Breach
A cyber liability insurance policy can be a valuable asset for business owners after they’ve experienced a data breach. Such a policy can provide them with the financial resources they need to mitigate the impact and fallout of a breach.
In 2020, a data breach at a small to medium-sized business cost an average of $101,000 to resolve, which can be a significant blow to any company. Fortunately, however, cyber liability insurance can help business owners avoid paying the complete cost of a data breach on their own.
If you’d like to learn more about cyber liability insurance plans available through Insurance Specialists, Inc., reach out to us online to learn more!