Help for the little guys: Small businesses offered “cyber insurance” – starting at $800

Small businesses will be able to buy “cyber assurance” packages to protect against possible losses from cyber attacks – with a British insurance firm offering packages starting at £500 ($800).

Cyber Assured was launched by NCC Group and is the UK’s first cyber assurance package specifically targeted at small businesses. The package will include risk assessment, and advice on how to protect against hacker attacks.

Cybercrime costs small businesses an average of £4,000 ($6000) a year, according to the British Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

ESET offers its own “road map” for small businesses to help with security. ESET Senior Researcher Stephen Cobb says, “Criminal hacking is making headlines with depressing frequency these days, so the task of securing your business against cyber criminals can seem daunting, particularly if your business is of modest size, the kind of place that does not have a crack team of cyber security experts on staff.”

The British Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) report found that 41 per cent of the FSB’s membership had been a victim of cybercrime in the last year – putting the average cost at around £4,000($6000) per business. The most common threat is virus infections, with 20% of small businesses falling victim. Eight per cent have been victims of hacking and five per cent have suffered security breaches.

Rob Cotton, CEO at NCC Group said: “Many SMEs have been ignoring the threats to their IT infrastructure as they simply don’t understand their exposure. They assume they aren’t viable targets, and they won’t consider insurance due to the cost”.