ALIGNMENT Matters Issue 16

Cyber Attack: Is Your SME Ready?

ALIGNMENT Matters issue 16 – On a recent Friday afternoon, a massive cyber attack caused productivity slowdowns across North America. You likely noticed that many services including social media tools and online payment services were inaccessible. Multiple denial-of-service (DoS) attacks effectively caused the internet and many related services to crash. The potential vulnerability we all have to any cyber attack became painfully obvious.

Within just a few hours, the Friday October 21, 2016 Dyn cyber attack had its own Wikipedia page and countless businesses, including many SMEs, were interrupted. Nearly all organizations are dependent on some form of access to 24/7/365 technology and sadly, many of those impacted by cyber attacks are small and mid sized businesses which are the foundation of our communities and economy.

Moreover, a breaking news story in Insurance Business Canada shares insights from a cyber expert that “attackers will tend to target the lowest hanging fruit, and at the moment that is the SME sector.”  Worse still, SMEs may not have a business continuity plan in place for what happened. Canadian Underwriter notes that “49% of Alberta SMEs surveyed do not have business continuity plan” let alone a cyber resiliency plan. 

Across Canada, our team of insurance advocates has a deep and thorough understanding of the current and emerging risks that SMEs and larger businesses face. Read on for insights & information about:

• How To: Avoid A Shutdown Shuttering Your SME
• Making News: Ana Alberto, National Professional Liability Practice Leader
• Congrats! CIP Names AVP Laura Van Vliet 2016 National Emerging Leader
• ALIGNED Supports: Children’s Wish Foundation

Our experts can help you prepare your SME for a worst-case scenario – learn how in ALIGNMENT Matters issue 16 below.

Sincerely,

Andrew Clark, MBA, CAIB, RF, FCIP, RPLU
President & CEO
ALIGNED Insurance Inc.
www.linkedin.com/in/andrewclarkalignedinsurance

ALIGNMENT Matters issue 16

• [product insights] Does your SME have a continuity plan? Survey says there’s a 50/50 chance it doesn’t
  A recent survey of Alberta-based small enterprises in Canadian Underwriter reports that, “1 in 5 said they have a formal plan and an additional 27% said they had an informal plan…” READ MORE
• [expert insights]  Ana Alberto, CIP CRM has been appointed as our National Professional Liability Practice Leader. Ana shares, “I chose to join one of the fastest growing brokerages in Canada because of their unique approach to helping clients see insurance differently.” Her leadership has ensured that…“READ MORE
• [talent insights] AVP Laura Van Vliet wins national insurance award  We’re excited to report that ALIGNED’s very own Laura Van Vliet has been recognized by none other than the Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) Society as its 2016 National Emerging Leader... READ MORE
• [good causes]  ALIGNED supports Children’s Wish Foundation  We’re proud to give generously and regularly to support the great work charitable and not profit organizations do each and every day. Administrator Carol Roth recently recommended…READ MORE