The use of data is now completely entwined with our business and social lives to such an extent that IP addresses are now more common than correspondence addresses. We now have the capability of recording TV programmes when we are out and about, we can set our central heating system whilst we are out so our house is warm when we get home. It can even tell us to turn the heating off when we leave the house!! We can book Rail tickets, Plane tickets, Hotel rooms and the like using nothing more than a mobile phone! Business has adopted technology like never before through Internet shopping, Email, Information storage and with the latest buzz phrase by the analysis of “big data”.

But, how secure are our systems and the information that we hold on those systems. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires particular controls to be in place in relation to the processing and storage of sensitive data, and the seventh data protection principle states that appropriate technical and organisational measures must be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data. Whilst the global use of data becomes more widespread, so do the instances of cyber attack, and only recently did we hear that certain celebrity accounts on Apple’s icloud had been hacked and personal photographs removed and distributed over the internet. We hear that Sony Pictures have had their mainframe computers hacked by persons unknown, which facilitated the early release of certain blockbuster movies and latterly, the whole internet in North Korea was unavailable for a day following a cyber attack.

So what is the answer? As well as robust data security measures and good risk management of data, companies can purchase Cyber Liability Insurance to mitigate the risk of loss or actions brought against them, which can be arranged in a complimentary manner to security measures taken by the firm to protect their systems and data from unwanted or misdirected attention.

At MOFS, we have also adopted a method of Secure Information Delivery for our clients by utilising a secure online vault provided by Safe 4 to ensure that we can deliver large amounts of electronic data and store large amounts of electronic data in a secure environment, and to the benefit of our customers. Further information concerning Safe 4 and their services and what we at MOFS have gained from them can be accessed byclicking here.

Alternatively, if you would like to speak to one of our advisers about insuring cyber risks click here  leave some details and someone will contact you by return.