Cyberattacks Keep Making Headlines. Is Your Business Prepared?

You open your laptop to start the workday, but your files won’t load. Employees can’t access their accounts. Customers are waiting, invoices are on hold, and nobody knows when things will be working again.

For a business owner, a cyberattack can turn an ordinary morning into an expensive interruption.

Recent incidents have affected medical technology companies, retailers, and the technology providers other businesses depend on. They’re a reminder that cybersecurity deserves attention before something goes wrong—and that having a recovery plan is more important than ever

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Recent Attacks Show How Quickly Business Can Be Disrupted

Boston Scientific: In August 2026, the Massachusetts-based medical technology company identified a cybersecurity incident that disrupted its global operations. Manufacturing, order fulfillment, and shipping were affected. The company later reported that those operations had been restored, but the incident demonstrated how a technology disruption can reach far beyond the IT department.

ConnectWise: In October 2026, ConnectWise disclosed unauthorized access to application credentials associated with its Cloud Backup service. The company suspended affected services while investigating and working through restoration. Its updates also advised customers to review their Microsoft 365 environments for unauthorized changes or persistent access.

Retail brands Phase Eight, Hobbs, and Whistles: Also in October, parent company The Foschini Group reported a cybersecurity incident affecting its UK operations. Certain IT systems became unavailable, and the company brought in outside cybersecurity specialists. At the time of its announcement, investigators were still determining whether sensitive information had been compromised.

These incidents highlight several ways a business can be affected: disrupted operations, unavailable services, and uncertainty about the security of sensitive information.

What Would a Day Without Your Systems Cost?

Large companies make headlines, but smaller businesses also need to consider their exposure.

Think about what your business uses every day: email, scheduling software, payment systems, payroll, customer records, and online accounts.

If those tools became unavailable, could your employees keep working? Could you collect payments? Would you know which customers needed to be contacted?

The financial impact can extend beyond repairing computers. Lost income, recovery expenses, customer communication, and legal assistance can all become part of the response.

Even if your own systems remain secure, an incident involving a technology provider could interrupt services you rely on—as the ConnectWise incident illustrates.

Where Cyber Insurance Fits

Cybersecurity measures help reduce risk. Cyber insurance can help address certain financial consequences when an incident occurs.

Depending on the policy, coverage may help with:

• Investigating an incident and restoring data.

• Notifying affected customers and providing certain support services.

• Lost income and extra expenses from a covered business interruption.

• Legal defense and certain claims involving compromised information.

The FTC recommends discussing both first-party coverage, which addresses certain losses to your business, and third-party coverage, which addresses certain claims brought by others, with your insurance agent.

Details matter. Ask whether your policy addresses interruptions involving service providers, ransomware, fraudulent payment instructions, and social engineering. These exposures may have separate requirements, limits, exclusions, or endorsements.

Practical Steps Worth Taking Now

You don’t need to solve every cybersecurity concern in one afternoon. Start with the basics:

Protect account access. Enable multifactor authentication, especially for email, financial accounts, and administrative access. NIST recommends phishing-resistant options where available.

Keep software updated and backups protected. Maintain backups that attackers cannot easily alter, and test whether you can successfully restore your data. The FBI includes vulnerability management and tested, offline or immutable backups among its key cyber defenses.

Give employees a clear process. Make sure your team knows how to report suspicious messages. Require independent verification of unexpected requests to change banking details or send money.

Write down your response plan. Identify who will contact your IT provider, insurance carrier, and other response professionals. Keep essential contact information somewhere accessible if your normal systems are unavailable.

Protect the Business You’ve Worked to Build

Recent cyberattacks give business owners a reason to review their security and insurance together.

You should understand what could interrupt your operations, how your business would respond, and where your coverage may leave gaps.

At FR Insurance & Benefits, we can help you review your cyber insurance options and understand how coverage may fit your business.

Contact our team to start the conversation before an unexpected interruption puts your plan to the test.

Coverage is subject to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy.