Cybersecurity and the Construction Industry

Every industry is susceptible to cyber security risks, and the construction industry is no exception. The construction industry is largely unregulated when it comes to cybersecurity, so many companies fail to prioritize this issue. Many believe that their company doesn’t have anything a hacker could want, when in fact they hold sensitive information such as proprietary data, employee records, project designs, bid pricing, financial records, contracts, and more.

In order to protect themselves, construction companies need to have safeguards in place to prevent and react to any cyber-attacks as they increasingly rely on technology. So, what steps can you take to protect your company?

Prevention Strategies

• • Multifactor Authentication: A  highly effective method to reduce cyber-attacks is having a multifactor authentication system in place. By using this system, users are required to provide two or more verification factors in order to access a website or application. In fact, this internal control is so important and effective that some insurance carriers won’t provide cyber insurance coverage for companies that don’t have this in place.

• • Vendor Risk Management: Be sure to update contracts with third-party vendors to protect from data breaches. Research has shown that the majority of cyber-attacks that occur are due to a data breach caused by a third-party vendor. Having a vendor risk management program in place ensures that you are holding your vendors to the same security standards that your organization does internally.

Employee Training

• • Phishing Tests: Ensure that your entire team can recognize potential cyber threats through education, and practice employee readiness by running phishing tests. Additionally, make sure that employees know what to do and who to contact immediately if they believe that a security breach has occurred.

Cyber Insurance

Sometimes, despite having internal controls in place, a breach can happen. Many companies mistakenly believe that their existing policies will cover them in the event of a cyber-attack and don’t have cyber liability insurance in place. The expenses resulting from a data breach can be costly and having the right cyber liability insurance in place for your business can potentially help cover resulting expenses including forensic investigations, lawsuits due to privacy breaches, regulatory fines, and more.

Our industry specialists are here to ensure that you have the right coverage in place. Reach out to one of our local AssuredPartners Construction experts today to hear what they recommend for your business.