OA question: Would you drive your car without insurance?
We sincerely hope your reaction was a definite no. ย After all, itโs a legal requirement to have cover, and on the roads, youโre never quite sure what risks youโll face.
So hereโs a second question. Would you trust a Managed Service Provider who didnโt have cyber insurance cover?
Was that harder to answer? ๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง. Not with the increasing prevalence of cyber threats, which can come from all sorts of angles and inflict irreparable damage on your business and your reputation.
Hereโs another factor to think about. If a hacker wants to maximise damage or extort more ransomware payments, who better to target than an #MSP who looks after and has access to the systems of numerous businesses?
๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐
Thatโs something weโre well aware of and our insurance is squeaky clean, but with threats increasing, premiums rise. When we started talking about this issue with fellow MSPs, we discovered some donโt have the right cover, some donโt have enough and some, worryingly, donโt have any at all.
While that might appear to be their problem, itโs an issue for their clients too. What happens to you if theyโre attacked? Would your insurance cover your losses? Is your business continuity guaranteed?
Donโt get us wrong. Insurance doesnโt magically prevent cyber attacks from happening โ just as insuring your vehicle doesnโt take every careless driver off the road. But itโs part of the defence strategy. Whatโs more, the savvy MSP who puts in place robust, accredited cyber-security measures will probably be able to find insurance policies for a more manageable premium. Insurance is a key part of a belt-and-braces approach.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฑ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ
Now, the details of cybersecurity insurance can be confusing. There are complications about who is covered: just the policy-holder, or third parties too โ a particularly important consideration for MSPs looking after their clientsโ IT ecosystems. Then some policies cover certain types of risk only, such as data breaches. Donโt get too hung up on this right now. The first thing you need to ascertain is whether your MSP is putting you at risk by not having cyber insurance.
Ask that first question. Decide whether the response is convincing and complete or just a bit of waffle they hope will reassure.
If itโs the latter, are you still happy to be motoring along with them?
