CyberProtect By Beneficial Insurance

We are living in unprecedented times. Most of us have been working remotely and still may be doing this in some way. We are constantly hearing news about cyber security, cyber breaches and the cyber threats that are very real out there.

If any of us believe that we are immune to being a target we will at some point receive an awful surprise.

A lot of the publicity has to do with large organisations, government agencies and businesses enduring a barrage of cyber-attacks. The question that sticks in our mind however is what about us the everyday Kiwis, not large organisations, but us mums and dads that face more and more cyber risks on a daily basis.

There is a lot of advice out there aiming to tell us all what to do, however very few people/companies actually do something constructive to support us as individuals during these times.

This is however about to change, Beneficial Insurance a 100% New Zealand Owned, Managed and Staffed insurance company has decided to address this current issue faced by everyday Kiwis. It is proud to present CyberProtect to the New Zealand market. CyberProtect is an insurance product that covers personal and household cyber for everyday families. It is available for all families within New Zealand. CyberProtect is there to protect what is important to us all as Kiwi’s and support people during these trying times.

CyberProtect will cover families for CYBER FRAUD, RESTORATION COSTS, CYBER EXTORTION and IDENTITY THEFT. For as little as $14 a week an average Kiwi family of 4 will all enjoy cover from CyberProtect. CyberProtect is a completely free-standing insurance product that does not require you to purchase any other insurance products to be eligible.

On top of this CyberProtect allows you to safely purchase CyberProtect insurance online, as easy as buying tickets online. The CyberProtect application/purchase process does not require large submissions of documents rather it will only take approximately 5mins to complete and fulfil online in real time. Your Policy certificate will be sent to your email inbox and you will enjoy instant peace of mind knowing you are covered.

Beneficial Insurance Limited was established in 2002 and is 100% New Zealand owned and operated. Beneficial Insurance Limited is a licensed insurer for the purposes of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010.

Cyber-attacks come in a few ways:

1. Data extraction - Criminals try to extract valuable data from your computer
2. Denial of Service attacks (DoS) – Criminals prevent you from using your data, your apps and other elements on your devices.
3. Social Engineering Attacks - Criminals exploit human psychology by tricking you into providing them with sensitive information like Passwords or Credit card information.
4. Ransomware - Criminals gain access to your system and hold your data hostage.

Recovering from these cyber-attacks is very costly and can often take significant time to correct, and cause undue stress. Your system will also need to be investigated in-depth to ensure these attackers are completely removed.

There is currently a lot of advice on what to do in New Zealand and globally to protect oneself. Some of these points are:

• Keep software fully up to date
• Wherever you can, have two factor authentication
• Ensure password strength and uniqueness at all times
• Insure yourself wherever possible to gain further peace of mind
• Always backup your system on an external drive

Scammers target us in a range of ways, having a very large focus on digital channels that we use constantly.

All of the current market information is clear that cyber-attacks can’t be 100% eliminated, we can only reduce our risk by practising safe cyber practices and by insuring ourselves this will provide us with peace of mind.

Examples of Cover:

Example #1: Malware - Ransomware

Malware is a Malicious Software such as Ransomware that is designed to damage or control your computer. Ransomware is, essentially, the digital version of kidnapping.

Scenario could be where a hacker manages to get a ransomware file onto your computer. Typically, hackers will send you an email with a malicious file attached. This file doesn’t look malicious and will often look completely legitimate, like something you receive every day. When you open the file, the ransomware file is deployed, encrypting and locking specific, highly sensitive files on your computer. When you attempt to open the files, you are confronted with a message stating that your files have been locked, and that you will only receive the encryption key if you pay a specified amount to the hacker, usually through an untraceable Bitcoin payment.

Our service:

• Cyber Extortion Cover - We will manage the process of getting you access to your computer and files by either paying the hacker for the encryption key up to the maximum cover of $15,000
• Restoration Costs Cover - Where it is not an option to unencrypt and gain access back to your computer and files we will get a computer professional to fully reboot and clean your computer and reinstall your software.

Example #2: Phishing

Phishing involves hackers posing as legitimate institutions in order to trick people into entering sensitive information. For example, a hacker may email you, posing as your bank system administrator, asking you to reset your password. A link is included in the email that directs you to a page that looks like the bank’s legitimate password reset page, including fields for the username and old password. When you enter your old password, the hacker gets access to what is actually your current password. They can then immediately log into your bank account without any detection.

Our service:

• Cyber Fraud Cover - We will cover the financial loss suffered from this phishing cyber-attack up to the maximum cover of $15,000
• Identify Theft Cover – We will cover the costs incurred to correct or reinstate your banking records

© Scoop Media