Cyber Insurance Trends in 2023: The Impact of Windows Updates

Introduction

Imagine the worst has happened. Your business’s computers, tablets and mobile phones have all been halted with a big ransom demand.

How long is this going to last? How much money will you lose from your business being down?

If your business is down for a while, Cyber Insurance can tide you along.

If you don’t already have Cyber Insurance, you need to understand the Cyber Insurance trends in 2023.

Getting Cyber insurance is getting harder as the years go on.

You need to learn the trends before you buy.

But what are the trends? What is the most basic cybersecurity requirement you need for Cyber Insurance in 2023?

Windows Updates And Their Role in Cybersecurity

Windows updates and keeping your systems up-to-date are one of the most basic cybersecurity requirements for most Cyber Insurance companies.

Why?

Because a Windows system is the choice of operating system for most businesses in the world. And with that, its cybersecurity vulnerabilities are constantly being hounded by cybercriminals.

Microsoft is continuously working towards patching all cybersecurity vulnerabilities with regular updates.

So, when Windows request you to update your operating system, you can bet one of the reasons is usually cybersecurity.

Not Updating Systems

However, a lot of employees don’t like to update their Windows operating systems if they can help it.

But, these updates need to be done. Updating Windows is one of the most basic (and easy) cybersecurity requirements your business has to uphold. 

Having an unpatched operating system will leave vulnerabilities in your business’s cybersecurity.

If you leave vulnerabilities too long, a bad actor could easily exploit any of them.

Think about it like this: leaving your systems out-of-date is like leaving your front door open. You’ve let the bad guys in without any friction.

What Can Happen?

If the bad guys get into your business through these vulnerabilities, they can easily take:

• • Your employee’s credentials – bad actors will have access to all your systems and data.
  • Your customers’ details – your customers could have their details sold on the Dark Web.

But that’s not all.

The bad guys could also hold your business up for ransom. Do you have a spare £1,000,000 lying about?

To make sure that you don’t leave any easily-prevented vulnerabilities in your business, you need to ensure you’re up to date with all Windows updates.

But don’t just stop there.

The bad guys can hack your business even if everything is up-to-date. You can still get that ransom demand. But you don’t need a spare £1,000,000 lying about.

You can get Cyber Insurance.

But, obviously, there’s a cost.

You will need to adhere to specific cybersecurity measures to get Cyber Insurance. And up-to-date software is just scraping the surface.

But that’s not always been the case…

The Evolution Of Cyber Insurance

The first ever case of Cyber Insurance started in 1997 at the same time as the boom of technology.

Cyber Insurance started off as insurance for errors in data processing but as cyberattacks became more of a threat in the early 2000s, Cyber Insurance quickly transitioned to protect businesses that became victimised.

Today, more and more businesses are looking to protect themselves with Cyber Insurance but they don’t know the cyber insurance trends in 2023.

Every year since Cyber Insurance became about cybersecurity, the requirements have gotten more and more strict.

Nowadays, the basic requirements most insurance companies follow are:

1. Firewalls: Businesses may be required to have firewalls in place to protect their networks from unauthorized access.

2. Anti-Virus Software: Anti-virus software can help detect and prevent malware infections, and may be required by insurance providers.

3. Encryption: Encryption can help protect sensitive data, such as personal information or financial data, from unauthorized access, and may be required by insurance providers.

4. Multi-Factor Authentication: Multi-factor authentication can help prevent unauthorized access to business systems and may be required by insurance providers.

5. Employee Training: Businesses may be required to provide regular cybersecurity training to employees to help prevent human error-related security incidents.

6. Up-to-Date with Updates: Businesses should always be required to keep systems and apps up-to-date with the latest security patches.

The cyber insurance trends do differ depending on the insurance company you use, but usually, these are the minimum standards you need to take for cyber insurance now.

Why?

The reason for these minimum standards is that if an insurance company doesn’t require these minimum standards, they would be paying for costly insurance claims every day.

Insurance companies need to keep up with the cyber insurance trends so that they are not paying out cyber insurance claims every day.

If you want to be protected by Cyber Insurance, you need to keep up with these minimum standards. And make sure you don’t forget about Windows updates.

Keeping your Windows systems updated is usually a forgotten requirement by most businesses, however, it is one of the most important for you to keep.

But why is this the case?

Windows Updates and Impact on Cyber Insurance

When it comes to cyber insurance trends, most people will think about firewalls, anti-virus etc as they are historically known for cybersecurity.

But, one of the easiest ways for you to stay cyber-secure that nobody thinks about, is to keep everything up-to-date.

Software companies (such as Microsoft) regularly update their software to increase cybersecurity. All you need to do to increase your cybersecurity is update your systems!

This makes updating your systems one of the best ways to keep your business safe online.

However, if you do not update your software, your business will be crawling with vulnerabilities hackers already know how to exploit.

Due to this, Windows updates are one of the biggest cyber insurance trends for insurance companies to require.

Cyber insurance trends in 2023 are to ensure you (or your employees) don’t forget to update your software.

The Impact

If you or your employees do not keep your assets/ Windows operating systems up-to-date, the impact on your Cyber Insurance could be great. If you are hacked and it is discovered that your systems were not properly updated, your insurance company may not pay out.

You could end up paying for Cyber Insurance for years, only to not get a payout due to the forgotten clause…

But, what does the future look like?

The Future Trends of Cyber Insurance and Windows Updates

Cybercriminals are getting smarter and more businesses are being attacked every year. This is only going to make the cyber insurers more strict, so they end up paying out less…

If businesses around the world don’t train their employees on the importance of cybersecurity and keeping their Windows systems up-to-date, we’ll find that even more businesses will fall to cyberattacks.

And if that happens, we will see cyber insurance trends where very few businesses will be covered by the Cyber Insurance that they’ve been paying for, for years.

If your business fails to update even 1 asset, you may not be covered in the event of a cyberattack…

What You Can Do

As a business looking for cyber insurance and to protect yourself from future cyber attacks, you need to ensure that you and your staff are always updating your systems and apps as soon as the updates are available.

To get a greater idea about if there are any assets in your business that have not been updated, you should try an asset register.

Here at Jera, we offer an asset register that documents all your assets but also lets you update every asset from one place.

To learn more about this, contact us now!

The future trends of Cyber Insurance point towards Cyber Insurance getting more and more strict, with regular updates being the most common standard for Cyber Insurance companies to need.

Something as simple as not keeping your operating system updated could be the downfall of your cyber insurance claim.

If in the future you make sure to keep your systems updated, and you increase other cybersecurity systems, you will likely be able to be covered by most Cyber insurance companies.

Although please be wary that every insurer is different and has different requirements.

In Summary

If you’re looking to get Cyber Insurance in 2023, you need to understand the trends.

Cyber Insurance is getting more strict with what you need, and one of the most basic requirements for you and your staff to employ is to update Windows and other your other software.

Keeping all your systems up to date will ensure that your business does not hold serious vulnerabilities.

If you keep your business up-to-date, and you employ more cybersecurity measures, you will be on the right path to qualify for Cyber Insurance now and in the future.

It’s likely that keeping your systems up-to-date will always be a cyber insurance trend as it is one of the more basic cybersecurity measures your business could take.

Help With Jera

If you’re looking for more information on this, contact us here at Jera today.

Our experts know a great deal about Cyber Insurance and the trends that will come with it in the future. If you’re looking to start your Cyber Insurance journey today, contact us now.