BizCover, Australia’s leading online small business insurance provider, reveals why salons may be targets for cybercriminals and how salon owners can manage the potential financial fallout of a cyber incident.

It’s probably not something you spend too much time thinking about. After all, why would cybercriminals want to target your hair salon?

However, no business is too small to avoid becoming the victim of a devastating cyberattack. Small businesses are often targets simply because they are small, and those in the hair and beauty industry can be hit just as hard as any other type of business.

In fact, the most recent cyberthreat report from the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) found that a cyber incident can cost a small business $49,600 on average. This is an increase of 8 per cent on the previous year. If your salon was to become a target, would you be able to remain operational and profitable?

Why do cybercriminals attack small businesses?

While it may not seem like a hair salon’s client data would be very important, certain personally identifiable information (PII) can be quite valuable for cybercriminals. Names, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses and payment information can all be used by cybercriminals to commit identify fraud, carry out sophisticated phishing attacks or simply sell online to the highest bidder.

If you use a laptop or a smart device to run your business, take online payments, or allow clients to book online through a website, then your business is at risk. Your salon may also rely on outside suppliers and partners, and cybercriminals can use these relationships to hack into shared systems, steal sensitive data, or initiate unauthorised money transfers.

What can salon owners do to protect their business?

When you’re running you own salon, cybersecurity may feel like a low priority when you have so many other things to do. However, even basic cybersecurity measures can help to protect your business.

Learning how to spot common cyberattacks and scams is a great place to start. Recognising dodgy emails, messages and calls may make you less likely to become the victim of cybercrime. Being able to identify a cyberthreat before it becomes a real issue is an increasingly important skill to have, with AI-driven cyberattacks becoming more common.

Proactively protecting your systems is another important step. Installing a firewall and anti-virus software can go a long way to helping stop cyberthreats in their tracks. Install security updates on your salon’s smart devices, including computers, phones, tablets and POS machines.  Also, it’s a good idea to consider backing up your business files regularly to help avoid data loss.

Cyber Liability insurance: How it can help hair salons

A Cyber Liability policy covers losses from claims arising from data breaches, business interruption and remediation costs following an actual or threatened data breach. If your salon becomes a target despite your best efforts, then Cyber Liability insurance could help you cover many expenses associated with the cyberattack. This includes investigating how the incident happened to notifying affected customers.

Cyber Liability insurance can also help you manage business interruption costs, which are often overlooked following a cyberattack. Your policy could help you cover things like rent, utilities, and lost income if your salon is forced to temporarily shut down until the cyber incident is resolved.

Another benefit of Cyber Liability insurance is that many policies offer 24-hour incident response services that policyholders can call on for immediate assistance. This can be a major advantage for small business owners, who often don’t know who their first point of contact should be following a cyberattack nor have the resource to hire an IT Specialist or Manager.

All of these services combined can help to reduce the impact of a cyberattack, which can help businesses get back on their feet faster.

Save on Cyber Liability insurance with BizCover

Discover why so many Aussies businesses – 250,000 and counting – choose to purchase business insurance through BizCover. You can quickly and easily compare quotes and buy insurance.

For more information visit www.bizcover.com.au

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