Cyber Insurance - Application Tips

Why does my business need cyber insurance?

By Todd Swartzman, RealTime CISO

Your business is a target, whether you care to admit that fact or not. 

Having a good cyber insurance policy that helps mitigate some of your business risks is a safety net for your business in case of a breach, data loss event, business interruption due to a cyber event, assistance in a ransomware event, etc. Each policy is worded differently, and some policies won’t cover all things, or with the same limits. 

[Contact your insurance broker to get the process started. If your agent doesn’t seem to be very conversant on this subject, a good agent will loop in a cyber expert from the underwriter.]

FILLING OUT THE CYBER INSURANCE APPLICATION

WHAT SHOULD MY MINDSET BE WHEN FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION?

Think liability. Your job isn’t to make your business look good to the broker or underwriter. Be 100% forthright with your answers and be sure to answer accurately.  Ask the broker or underwriter to define their terms. What we commonly understand a term to mean isn’t necessarily what the insurer says that these policy terms mean, so be sure to get clarification. One policy I was working on included a 28-page document explaining the terms of their one-page proposal. Remember, what you think a term means may be quite different than what the insurer says that term means for their policy – go with the insurers version.

WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER TO SOME QUESTIONS?

If you don’t know the answers to some of the questions, just tell the broker; or if you’ve been asked to answer the questions on behalf of a client, let the client know you don’t know the answer. This is especially important if the question is a legal or compliance type question. Your goal is to answer accurately, and it is critically important that you do so.

Here is why:

Cottage Health Systems got sued by their insurance company for failure to follow “Minimum Required Practices”. This is an example of what can happen if you have to make a claim and you answered inaccurately during your application. Cottage Health said they were doing something preventative relevant to the event, but they actually were not. READ MORE HERE…

TYPES OF QUESTIONS

The questionnaire(s) you fill-out may have some definitive questions that want a Yes or No answer. Not all applications will have the same questions as each insurer and even many insurance brokers have their own questionnaires that they use as part of the application process. Ask the broker to help you better understand what these questions are really asking. You can include an addendum with your responses to better explain any answers where a Yes or No isn’t the best answer.

That policy questionnaire is an excellent way to measure how your business is positioned as far as your cybersecurity, your controls, policies, your compliance status, etc. If you find yourself answering “No” to many of the questions, this is your opportunity to improve your security to better protect your business, and maybe help get better cyber insurance premiums. 

The questions being asked are some basic, proven mitigations that businesses should already be taking to reduce their risks of a cyber event such as a breach or ransomware. Here is a list of some sample questions that not only will help you qualify for insurance; having these things in place will  make it less likely you’ll need to use that shiny new cyber insurance policy.

Medical Centers impacted by ransomware around the U.S.

Greater Baltimore Medical Center Hit by Ransomware Attack

BY MIKE LENNON

The Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Maryland was hit by a ransomware attack that impacted computer systems and medical procedures, the healthcare provider said Sunday. In late October, the U.S. government warned hospitals and healthcare providers of an “increased and imminent” ransomware threat. The alert warned that threat actors are targeting the healthcare sector with the TrickBot malware in attacks that often lead to ransomware infections, data theft and disruption of healthcare services.

The ransomware attack is the latest of many that have impacted healthcare providers over recent months. In September, a ransomware attack forced the shutdown of more than 250 locations operated by Universal Health Services (UHS). Also in September, an attack shutdown IT systems at a hospital in Duesseldorf, Germany, resulting in the death of a woman after she had to be taken to another city for urgent treatment.

TrickBot has been updated with functionality that allows it to scan the UEFI/BIOS firmwareof targeted system for vulnerabilities, security researchers recently discovered. READ MORE…

UHS Shuts Down Systems in U.S. Hospitals Following Cyberattack

BY IONUT ARGHIRE

In the end of September, 2020, Universal Health Services (UHS) shut down IT networks at multiple hospitals in the United States, after being hit with a cyberattack. A Fortune 500 company operating more than 400 facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, the healthcare services provider has approximately 90,000 employees and claimed an annual revenue of $11.4 billion for 2019. While many said that patient care wasn’t critically affected, others detailed difficulties in receiving lab results or performing other types of investigations in a timely manner. There was also one unconfirmed report of patients dying due to such delays. Furthermore, Bleeping Computer and TechCrunch report that information from people with knowledge of the incident leads to the conclusion that the Ryuk ransomware was used. READ MORE HERE…

As Hospitals Cope With a COVID-19 Surge, Cyber Threats Loom

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

The (University of Vermont Medical Center) Vermont hospital had fallen prey to a cyberattack, becoming one of the most recent and visible examples of a wave of digital assaults taking U.S. health care providers hostage as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide.

The same day as UVM’s attack, the FBI and two federal agencies warned cybercriminals were ramping up efforts to steal data and disrupt services across the health care sector.

By targeting providers with attacks that scramble and lock up data until victims pay a ransom, hackers can demand thousands or millions of dollars and wreak havoc until they’re paid.

Ransomware is also partly to blame for some of the nearly 700 private health information breaches, affecting about 46.6 million people and currently being investigated by the federal government. In the hands of a criminal, a single patient record — rich with details about a person’s finances, insurance and medical history — can sell for upward of $1,000 on the black market, experts say. READ MORE…

NEED MORE PROTECTION? LEARN MORE ABOUT CYBER DEFENSE…

DIY Security Awareness Training

By Todd Swartzman
Chief Information Security Officer

As you might imagine, RealTime fields a fair number of questions regarding cybersecurity that range from “How can we be better protected” to “I’m scared that we might be hit like that <insert business name here> was.” As part of answering this real need for our clients, RealTime is now offering an end user training program as part of our Advanced Cybersecurity Services.

 But, if you aren’t a client (yet) or you’d just like to try this on your own, you can train some of the basics of cybersecurity awareness just by spending a little time online, especially Youtube. This is not intended to replace formalized training, or make you an expert. What these videos can do is help you address some of the most likely threats that the average person encounters just because they use the internet and email in the course of doing their job. These tips are excellent for anyone who just wants to reduce their risks online.

TOOLKIT FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The Global Cyber Alliance is soon releasing a toolkit for small business to better educate and protect themselves from the most common threats in an easy to understand format. RealTime has access to this content early (it will be available to the public soon) and will post about that once it becomes publicly available. For now, here is a compilation we have put together that anyone can use to be better informed and help protect from common cyber threats we all get exposed to on a daily basis at work and at home.

SECURITY AWARENESS VIDEOS

Our Chief Information Security Officer, Todd Swartzman, has watched all of the videos below and recommends taking the the four minutes or less each needed to watch the them for your DIY education.

The links are current as of August 24th, 2020.

• Phishing explained with some education, by SANS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEMrBKmUTPE

•  How to spot a phishing email, report by Fortune Magazine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfnA7UmlZkE – best tip in this video: If the email looks suspicious, it probably is.

• If you only watch one video, make it this one – An excellent video spotting phishing scams that is well worth the almost 4 minutes of your time. Loaded with realistic examples and tips - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GwWTjz6txU – best tip: Think before you click.

• Office 365 phishing attack types with some examples, this is not a video - https://betanews.com/2019/04/03/office-365-phishing-attacks/ Note that these threats are not unique to  Office 365 email – we’ve seen attempts against all web based email systems. Just more confirmation that if something asks you to confirm credentials or enter your logon info to access an attachment – be wary! It’s better to ask questions before you click than after.

RealTime Chief Information Security Officer, Todd Swartzman

 TODD’S TIP

“The best single tip that I can provide to help you avoid being hooked by phishing: Microsoft, Google, Apple, Verizon, Bank of America, SSA, IRS, and thousands of legitimate, big, public businesses just like them will NEVER, ever, send an email to you asking you to confirm your password.” 

HERE ARE SOME OTHER THREATS WE FEEL EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE:

• Tech support scam, by USAGov - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGBLjPKSUeU – If you have older parents who use email and the internet, please ask them to watch this video! I have helped too many older, and not so older people, who have been scammed in this way, including my own parents more than once.  

•  Tech support scams can start just as easily with a pop up on the computer telling you something bad happenned that you need to call a number… or else something bad will happen.

•  Spot a bad URL or Link, by Symantec - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIeS7sJ_Llw

•  Better passwords, Local CBS news report - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oakITDBYElw

• Better password management using a password manager. This post explains LastPass, but all the password manager applications work pretty much the same - https://lifehacker.com/the-beginners-guide-to-setting-up-lastpass-1785424440  One important detail – you want to be sure that whatever application you use has their security act together and stores the passwords properly. 1 Password, 

•  Mobile device security from SANS Security Awareness - https://youtu.be/WEfWFA4xdd4

Wisconsin Republican Party had their cyber security compromised due to Phishing attack

Hackers stole millions from Wisconsin Republican Party

Original Article By Scott Bauer
October 29, 2020
AP News

PHISHING ATTACK STOLE MONEY; NO DATA.

The Wisconsin Republican Party had a suspected phishing incident that couldn’t have come at a worse time. An estimated $2.3 million was stolen by cybercriminals from the party’s reelection fund after at least one staffer interacted with a phishing email, impacting operations just as the races were coming down to the wire. The FBI and local officials are investigating the incident.

There have been more than 800 attempted phishing attacks for financial gain targeting the Wisconsin Democratic Party this campaign cycle, but none has been successful, said party spokeswoman Courtney Beyer. The Wisconsin Republican Party, however, was not so lucky.

Hackers manipulated invoices from four vendors who were being paid for direct mail for Trump’s reelection efforts as well as for pro-Trump material such as hats to be handed out to supporters. Invoices and other documents were altered so when the party paid them, the money went to the hackers instead of the vendors, Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) In this Sept. 17, 2020 file photo President Donald Trump throws a hat to the crowd after speaking at a campaign rally at the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, Wis. Hackers stole $2.3 million from the Wisconsin Republican Party's account that was being used to help reelect President Donald Trump in the key battleground state, the party's chairman told The Associated Press on Thursday, Oct. 29.

It appears the attack began as a phishing attempt and no data appears to have been stolen, said party spokesman Alec Zimmerman. The party noticed the suspicious activity on Oct. 22 and contacted the FBI on Friday after it was discovered that an invoice was generated that shouldn’t have been there.

The alleged hack was discovered less than two weeks before Election Day, as Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden made their final push to win Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes. Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016 and was planning his third visit in seven days on Friday. Biden also planned to campaign in Wisconsin on Friday. Polls have consistently shown a tight race in the state, usually with Biden ahead by single digits and within the margin of error.

REALTIME CYBER SECURITY SOLUTIONS

The most dangerous attack is used to do everything from steal money to deploy malware; more than just compromising data. Our Chief Information Security Officer, Todd Swartzman, can meet with you personally and do a gap assessment on your business to see where you could use extra protection. Learn more now about our Cyber Defense program…

RealTime IT is located in Dothan, Alabama and services the entire Wiregrass area and across the U.S.

Sneaky Phishing Emails & Credential Harvesting!

HOW EASILY CAN YOU BE FOOLED BY AN EMAIL?

Credential harvesting websites are dangerous and sneaky!

Phishing emails seem to be getting harder to spot! Recently, several employees received a phishing email from a legitimate sender! The “senders” Office 365 mailbox was breached the same morning this email was sent.

If you hover over the links in the email asking you to “Click Here” or “More Info”, they would lead you to this page (screenshot is pictured). This is a credential harvesting website that has the intention of trying to get you to fill it out… providing your email credentials!

If you (the recipient) opened this link in Chrome, it would warn you that this may be a deceptive site - but you cannot count on that always being the case with these threats.

The link checker built into email protection didn’t see this as a threat because it came from a known user, and web filters and DNS filter didn’t see a problem either. So, this threat bypassed four layers of protection! Scary!

THE HUMAN FIREWALL SAVED THE DAY!

As always, people are the last line of defense for threats like this one! The employee at this company used reasoning and noted the url (see the top that says “Whackinggrowers.com/CD/out/) was not a Microsoft location and was phishing. This person immediately notified our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) about the email, which was the right thing to do! They saved their business from allowing potential bad actors to steal their information. Humans are the last line of defense for threats like this one! Even though systems are smart and can catch most suspicious emails; our common sense, risk awareness, and responsiveness will ultimately save your company from disaster!