South African Businesses Vulnerable to Hacking

Businesses in South Africa are vulnerable to hacking 60% of Businesses are vulnerable to hacking.

In recent months, a number of top global firms have been hacked by cyber criminals, including organisations such as Sony, Citibank and England's National Health Service.

According to Aon Risk Solutions, $100 billion worth of cybercrime occurs each year, making this one of the biggest headaches for the corporate world.

The account manager at Aon, Jonathan Healy, said that, closer to home, over 60% of all South African businesses are not insured against hacking and other types of cyberattacks.? Worse, most of these businesses aren't even aware that they are able to take out insurance for these types of attacks.

Healy said: "These attacks, coupled with the liability claims that they might encounter, can leave local businesses in ruins if they are not properly insured against cybercrime."

He explained that there are insurance products that protect businesses which are exposed to hacking or viruses.? Generally speaking, liability policies treat third party claims, however some provide first party cover as well.

Healy said that should a company's database, which contains personal information, be compromised by a virus or hacker, damages can be far-reaching.? "If a client can verify that they have suffered a loss due to the data breach, they may hold the company responsible for the loss," he said.

Consider the Security Implications

Aon Risk Solutions said that South African companies need to seriously consider the security implications that threaten their businesses.

"Those that are most at risk are those who provide technology services, and those who are heavily reliant on technological systems to provide a service," said Healy. "Over and above investigating insurance options, local businesses should ensure that firewalls, IT security and virus protection measures are properly in place and regular tests are run to gauge effectiveness."