A leading figure in the cyber security space has urged brokers to educate themselves if they want to better assist their SME clients, saying many small business owners still underestimate potential risks.
“Before you can even consider advising a client, you need to educate yourself about the real risk,” says Grant Chisnall, client experience leader at Dynamiq. “Educating your clients empowers them to take proactive measures to prevent the risk from occurring.”
According to Chisnall, one of the most prevalent problems facing small businesses comes down to internal attitudes as many think they’re unlikely to become a victim of a cyberattack.
“The common issue we find is that businesses think they are immune to it, or too small to be considered a worthwhile target,” he tells Insurance Business.
“However, small businesses are a soft target for criminals who want to make relatively easy money before moving on to their next victim,” he continues. “The sobering reality is nearly half of all cybercrimes are targeted at small business and many don’t recover after an attack.
“We are talking about industrial scale cyber-crime, with criminals indiscriminately trawling the internet looking for soft targets. Would-be criminals no longer need to arm themselves, choose a target and walk in through the front door wearing a balaclava, when they can simply download some software, and hit hundreds of businesses through the virtual-door left open by their employees and vendors.”
Of course, it’s not always easy for a broker to communicate the real risk to a client until they’ve actually been impacted by the issue first-hand - but Chisnall says his firm’s Qantian assessment tool can help.
“Our free assessment enables a client to understand what their cyber risk is, benchmark that risk against other businesses like theirs, and connect the client to an action plan and services that will enhance their resilience,” he tells Insurance Business.
“Qantian’s use of data, insights and benchmarking helps the broker educate their clients on the real cyber-risk, in terms that are simple and relevant to them. The free assessment means there is no obligation or sales pitch from the broker, rather a value-exchange that educates the client, and positions the broker as the trusted advisor.”
