Cyber security is a major concern to both businesses and individuals. As cyber attacks become increasingly complicated and frequent, good cyber security practices are essential in order to minimize the risk of cyber attacks and their potentially devastating consequences.

This issue is no longer confined to IT departments. Cyber security is a concern at every level of an organisation and strategies should be in place to ensure awareness of the risks at play and resilience in the event of a security breach. Individuals should be vigilant in assessing cyber risk in relation to the confidentiality of data and scam emails, whilst businesses as a whole should be aware of cyber security checks and terms in contracting with suppliers, as well as reducing the overall attractiveness of the business as a target for attack.

New Zealand’s first Cyber Security Summit in May 2016 signalled the push toward protecting participants in the online community. Data breach legislation is to be expected in Australia and the New Zealand government is also taking steps to develop a regulatory response in order to guide businesses towards better cyber security. This is likely to mirror the proposed Australian Bill, which would enforce a data breach scheme whereby anyone who was subject to the Privacy Act would be required to notify affected individuals and the wider public of the breach.

In the meantime, we can help you formulate effective cyber security strategies by assisting you or your organisation to:

Assess and recognise cyber risks particular to you and your organisation;
Put procedures and protocol in place to ensure that everyone in the organisation is aware of the risks of data breaches and adheres to these;
Develop a recovery plan in order to minimise the impact of a cyber attack and ensure that advisory services will be available to manage the situation should it occur; and
Establish suitable insurance to cover both first-party and third party losses.

At Fortune Manning we are vigilant in our internal cyber security practices and are knowledgeable about ways in which data breach risks can be effectively managed. We are responsive to developments in the cyber community and are attentive to the evolving regulation around cyber security.

Contact us for guidance on how to protect yourself and your business from cyber risks.