“Being prepared for an incident can mean the difference between protecting your reputation and losing customers”
Businesses must plan for a cyber breach incident if they are to minimise the risk of business interruption, Willis said in a report launched at this year’s Ferma Forum.
Willis’s divisional director Erica Constance said: “Cyber attacks are a threat that affects 90% of companies, if not more. The technological landscape is constantly evolving and we are now so reliant on IT that businesses really need to focus on how best to prevent or minimise cyber risk.
“Being prepared for an incident can mean the difference between protecting your reputation and losing customers.
“A robust business continuity and incident response plan, which involves all your corporate functions (PR, legal, finance) as well as the business itself, is critical. Building relationships with third party companies that you would engage during the crisis beforehand will reduce the need for a distressed purchase of their services which could be costly.”
The advice forms one of six steps outlined to help risk managers mitigate the risks of cyber attacks.
Other tips include:
- Closely manage outsourced IT
- Boost your IT Security
- Ensure you have robust backup networks
- Create and implement employee IT guidelines and
- Make sure you have the right insurance policy in place
Constance added: “If a network disruption occurs it’s important to remedy the situation as quickly as possible – due to the significant potential for lost revenues, either directly (from missed sales opportunities) or indirectly (from industry fines or penalties, reputation harm and loss of future customers). There are a number of steps that prudent organisations should take to minimise their exposures.”
No comments yet