Target and Neiman Marcus are trying to recover from recent data breaches. A group of hackers in Eastern Europe are believed to be responsible for both. After the dust settled, it’s been reported that 70 million to 110 million people were affected by Target’s breach, and another 1 million were affected by the Neiman Marcus breach. Michael’s, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the US, seems to be the 3rd major American retailer to suffer a similar breach in a very short time. Michael’s is still investigating whether or not an actual breach occurred, but if this story ends like most of them begin, we will have a lot of people wondering and worrying if their personal information has fallen into the wrong hands.
What does this tell us? It tells us that businesses should be worried more about a their system being compromised and breached than an actual break and enter. It also tells us that no business or corporation is safe regardless of how big they might be, and that’s scary. Target, Neiman Marcus, and Michael’s can and will recover from these devastating data breaches, but small to medium size businesses might not be able to recover from a similar breach. While business owners might not be able to ever prevent a breach, they can prepare for one. And if you’re business is interesting and growing, a potential breach is inevitable. Cyber liability insurance, which is not included in general liability, is an optimal solution and can help you recover from a devastating breach. Businesses that unfortunately suffer a breach with no cyber liability coverage might be forced to ultimately close their doors.
For questions or concerns about data breaches and cyber liability insurance, please don’t hesitate to email me or leave a comment.