As a fraternal organization operating in today’s digitally connected world, your Post faces several cyber liability risks. Typically, most fraternal organizations do not consider themselves at risk for a cyber attack and have failed to take measures to secure their systems and data, making them an even bigger target.
To protect your organization, it’s important to understand your cyber liability risks and know how to protect against them.
Common cyber risks Posts face
You may think a cyber criminal would be uninterested in your organization, however, many Posts store valuable information, including:
- Organizational data
- Social media accounts
- Personal data of members and employees, including Social Security numbers
- Credit card information and more
Consider these cyber attacks your organization could face:
- Wire fraud—A scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises. Wire fraud often targets organizations in business-to-business transactions for investments, goods or services.
- Social engineering—A tactic often employed by cyber criminals for confiscating confidential information through manipulation of a person or business. Social engineering can be used against members to gain access to an organization’s finance records by tricking a member into giving the criminal access.
- Ransomware—A type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid by the victim. Hackers can infect your systems through emails, downloads, filesharing or compromised websites.
How to prevent cyber attacks at your Post
To protect your organization, there are a few simple tactics that can make big improvements in your cybersecurity.
Plan a cyber response—Deciding how your organization will investigate attacks, contain threats and recover from a hack is key. Make sure your plan addresses each kind of incident you may face, delivers a plan of action and puts your assets and resources to use.
Protect your computer systems—Protecting your computer systems from threats requires the right combination of tools. A firewall is essential to keep cyber criminals from accessing multiple systems through a single vulnerability. Antivirus software is needed to stop intrusions and sound the alarm if an attack is successful. Plan ahead for software updates as systems age and make sure critical security update patches always get installed right away.
Practice good password security—Always choose strong passwords, use different passwords for each system, and update passwords that are old or compromised.
Hold cyber risk awareness training—Train employees regularly on cyber and data security issues. Ensure they know to never to click on a link in an email from a third-party source without first verifying the email is legitimate. Consider enlisting the help of third-party best practices seminars, if available.
Add cyber liability insurance coverage—A cyber security incident can have a far-reaching impact on your organization, and the risk is always there, even with all the right protections in place. Cyber liability insurance coverage can help minimize your exposure, cover costs, and recover more quickly.
Cyber support from Lockton Affinity
Cyber security can be a lot to wrap your mind around, but Lockton Affinity can help. If you have questions on best practices, how to improve your organization’s security practices or how to find Cyber Liability coverage, give us a call at (800) 829-8390.