Minimizing Loss: Empowering SMBs With Cyber Insurance and Security Advisory Services

Large corporations may have ample resources and budgets for cybersecurity — but smaller businesses have to get by with a lot less. 

Fewer than half of the small businesses surveyed by Microsoft last year had an employee dedicated to IT security. Yet the risk of cyber attacks is as high, if not higher, for small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Research from 2022 shows that SMBs are targeted 350% more often via social engineering attacks than their larger counterparts, due in part to their relative lack of security resources, tools, and expertise.

Every modern business, regardless of size or industry, needs robust cyber defenses. But without access to dedicated security personnel and tools, defending against the speed and scale of today’s cyber attacks seems impossible. For businesses with an in-house resource gap, partnering with a cybersecurity consulting service or security advisory team can help reduce the risk of cyber attacks without increasing headcount. 

Of course, hiring third-party cybersecurity consultants will cost you — often upwards of $300 per hour. For businesses looking to stretch already tight budgets as far as possible, this can be a hefty price tag. That’s why insurance providers like At-Bay that take an InsurSec approach include these crucial security advisory services as part of their cyber policies.

A Virtual CISO That Acts as an Extension of Your Business

These are the kinds of questions all businesses should ask themselves:

• What are the greatest cyber risks we face? 
• Where is our IT most vulnerable?
• Which security products do we need and how do we utilize them to the fullest? 

Of course, without ample in-house expertise or allocated funds, it can be challenging to answer these questions while also running your business. But neglecting cybersecurity risks can lead to catastrophic consequences. For companies that lack an on-staff CISO, cybersecurity consulting services offer a virtual alternative — a vCISO. 

Cybersecurity advisory services can act as an outsourced CISO by providing the answers you need to strategic questions about security posture, software, and investments. 

Cybersecurity consultants bring extensive expertise to advise on the tools and tactics that offer the strongest defenses while using the fewest resources. This advice can be tailored to each company’s particular industry, tech stack, clients, and security risks. Businesses can leverage this expertise to inform all aspects of their cybersecurity and build a posture that does more with less.

What Can Cybersecurity Consultants Help With?

Cybersecurity consulting services like the ones At-Bay provides to our insureds can help with a wide range of preventative security support, from answering basic security questions to supplying complex configuration advice. 

Here are just a few of the issues a cybersecurity advisory service can address:

• Vulnerability Management: Discover exactly where your IT is exposed to an attack, which exposures are the highest priority, and how to close each vulnerability. 
• Endpoint Protection: Assess how many endpoints there are, what types are in use, and how to best protect each against an ever-evolving list of threats. 
• Access Controls: See where multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not enabled or admin privileges are left open, then help you put scalable and systematic access controls in place. 
• Security Education & Training: Explore where knowledge gaps exist around subjects like email security or phishing, and learn how to fill those gaps with education and training. 
• Cyber Resilience: Gauge how resilient your organization is against cyber attacks, see where the weak points are, and learn which issues to address first (and how). 

The Benefits of Security Services Included With Cyber Insurance

Cybersecurity consulting services can help any company with lean security resources make the most of what’s available. 

By making wiser decisions about everything, from selecting tools to implementing security controls, SMBs can significantly lower their cyber risk while also lowering the burden of cybersecurity. However, for SMBs whose budgets are already stretched thin, hiring third-party cybersecurity consultants — who typically charge upwards of $300 an hour — likely seems out of reach. 

That’s why it pays to choose your cyber insurance policy wisely. 

Since cyber insurance coverage has become table stakes in the digital economy, it’s ideal to partner with an InsurSec provider like At-Bay that, in addition to covering you in the event of an attack, provides access to cybersecurity services that can help you build a strong posture and prevent attacks. This way, your insurance investment does double duty as a security investment too.

At-Bay Stance Managed Security

In order to reduce loss across the board, it makes sense for cyber insurance providers to work closely with policyholders to help fortify their security throughout the life of their policy. Similar to how a health insurance provider might pay for gym memberships to promote good health overall, At-Bay helps policyholders maintain a strong security posture and lower their risk of attacks through our managed risk solution, At-Bay Stance.

At-Bay Stance™ combines mission-critical products and services that reduce cyber risk, including exclusive access to our in-house Managed Security team. This group of on-demand cybersecurity experts is available to advise on a breadth of topics that move the needle on security, working to proactively keep policyholders safe as part of their At-Bay insurance policy.

The gap between the security expertise that SMBs have and what they need is vast. Cybersecurity advisory services can help you make better use of your limited security resources — especially when these services come bundled with other vital solutions as part of a cyber insurance policy.

Learn more about the At-Bay Stance Managed Security team →