As a small business owner, you most likely already understand that cybersecurity insurance is a business owner's necessity. Should a cybercriminal decide to target your organization and succeed in their efforts, cybersecurity insurance will cover the damages to your business and all members affected by it, including your employees and clients.
It's not hard to know that cybersecurity insurance coupled with business insurance are all but requirements that come with running an SMB.
Chipotle likely understands this too, hopefully.
Chipotle Can't Wrap Up Bad News
Chipotle is making headlines again, and though it's not for food poisoning this time, Chipotle customers are still feeling the hurt.
In late April 2017, Chipotle announced that they had been the victim of a cybersecurity breach that affected the restaurant chain nationwide. In a statement on the company website, Chipotle shared that:
"The [cybersecurity] investigation identified the operation of malware designed to access payment card data from cards used on point-of-sale (POS) devices at certain Chipotle restaurants between March 24, 2017 and April 18, 2017. The malware searched for track data (which sometimes has cardholder name in addition to card number, expiration date, and internal verification code) read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was being routed through the POS device. There is no indication that other customer information was affected."
Over 2,000 Chipotle restaurants were affected in the data breach, and though the food company removed the malware, there's still a chance that their customers will face the ramifications of the malware breach.
Chipotle has told their customers to watch their bank accounts for fraudulent charges and to report suspicious activity to their card issuers immediately. The fast-food chain "has also published a tool online to help customers determine if their information may have been compromised. The tool allows a person to check if a restaurant location they visited was infected by the malware," as reported by International Business Times.
How Insurance Helps Cover the Costs
It's still too early to tell how Chipotle's cybersecurity breach will affect the restaurant's earnings, but what is known is that the Mexican fast food chain will suffer another blow to their reputation. How? Because the fast food's chain management practices have again harmed the customer.
But though their reputation will receive another blow, the restaurant's cybersecurity insurance should cover the extent of the financial damages. So, if their customer base should decide to forfeit their burrito purchases, Chipotle's loss of business will be covered by both their cybersecurity and business insurance policies.
If more still comes to light about the cyber breach and customers file a class action lawsuit against the restaurant, the Mexican-dining chain's cyber and business insurance packages will pay the court fees.
Clearly, it pays to have cybersecurity and business insurance.
If your business suffered a data breach today, could you cover the costs associated with the clean up? You can, with cybersecurity insurance. Visit CyberPolicy to compare free cyber quotes today, and don't forget to shop for business insurance with our parent company, CoverHound!
