The ramifications of cyber hacks are about to increase dramatically.

From Thursday 22 February, Australia’s notifiable data breaches (NDB) scheme  comes into force.

The scheme requires notification of unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or loss of information likely to result in serious harm.

The NDB scheme means your clients cannot keep silent on data breaches and hope for the best. From 22 February 2018, breaches must be reported to both the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and people affected.

A wide range of entities are at risk and the statistics are horrifying. For

Your small business owner and manager clients might not consider themselves prime targets for cyber attacks.

They may assume big companies have more information to steal and more profits to siphon off, so they’re targeted most often by criminals online. In reality, the opposite is often true.

Everyone can be a cybercrime target – even SMEs – and the onus is on SME owners to stand up to the cybercrime epidemic, spread awareness and do their part to prevent incidents. That process begins with simply admitting the problem exists.

If one of your

An interesting headline for an insurance article I realize but I am continually surprised how far and wide reaching this new “cyber thingy” is taking hold across the globe. And the effect is largely unseen as a clear majority of businesses don’t report these cyber hacks or data breaches to anyone and just battle through. Perhaps because there is no one to report them to or they are simply not insured.

When will it stop? Or a better question, how far will it go? hence my article headline.

I heard

Cyber is critical and must be covered off with clients since it is now an established exposure. Gary Gribbin, IBNA Limited Chairman has listed below the Cyber matters that they’ve paid last year. There were a similar amount prior year and some higher claims the year before and they have a $500k matter in the pipe at the moment.

Brief description
Approx Paid

Insured suffered multiple cyber-attacks. Potential BI loss. Crawfords assisting Insured.

0.00

Insured suffered a crypto-locker attack leading to a significant impact upon the business.

35,000.00

On 15 June

Seems like you cannot scroll through your Facebook or Twitter news feeds these days without something popping up about the latest hack of someone’s or some businesses private records. (I apologise for not mentioning the online News syndicates but who reads them anyway right?) Of course, as does always happen with repetition in news stories, people’s interest wanes so eventually the reporting on them becomes less and less important. However, in the world of Cyber News, then came along the attack on the Ashley Maddison website run by Avid Life

Seems like you cannot scroll through your Facebook or Twitter news feeds these days without something popping up about the latest hack of someone’s or some businesses private records. (I apologise for not mentioning the online News syndicates but who reads them anyway right?) Of course, as does always happen with repetition in news stories, people’s interest wanes so eventually the reporting on them becomes less and less important. However, in the world of Cyber News, then came along the attack on the Ashley Maddison website run by