Cyber frights — does your insurance coverage match today’s threats?

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month — a timely reminder for Florida businesses that cyber threats are not only constant but also evolving at lightning speed.

Once thought to be the problem of multinational corporations, cybercrime today impacts companies of every size, from small retailers to midsize manufacturers. The unfortunate reality is that no organization, no matter how small or local, is immune to attack.

What’s changed in 2025 is not the existence of cyberattacks, but their sophistication. Criminals are deploying artificial intelligence to mimic the voices or faces of executives, tricking employees into wiring funds or sharing credentials. These “deepfake” impersonations have already fooled seasoned professionals.

Meanwhile, cybercriminals are exploiting vulnerabilities in widely used software and cloud providers, turning a weakness in one vendor into a cascading risk for dozens of companies.

Even the way we interact daily at work has become an attack surface. Hackers are infiltrating collaboration platforms and sending messages that look convincingly real — until malware takes hold.

Add to this the surge in credential theft and ransomware, and businesses face a threat environment unlike anything we’ve seen before.

A new kind of weak link

Last year, experts warned that the weakest link in cybersecurity was often an employee clicking a suspicious link. That remains true — but now the weakest link may also be a third-party service provider, an unpatched piece of software, or an unmonitored AI tool in use inside the business.

Criminals don’t always knock on the front door; sometimes they slip in through the side entrance you didn’t even realize was open.

The role of preparedness and protection

So, what can Florida businesses do?

First, embrace a “zero trust” approach — verify every request for access, no matter how legitimate it looks. Second, train employees to be skeptical of urgent demands, even if they appear to come from the boss. Third, audit your supply chain and software vendors to identify potential hidden risks.

But even the most vigilant defenses can be breached. That’s why preparation must include protection — and this is where the surplus lines insurance market plays a critical role.

How surplus lines step in

Cyber liability insurance has become an essential tool, but not every policy is created equal. When traditional insurers are often unable to cover unusual or high-severity risks, surplus lines carriers step in, tailoring policies to fit evolving exposures.

These insurers often provide more than coverage: they offer pre-loss services such as employee training, tabletop exercises, and risk assessments that strengthen defenses before an incident ever occurs.

And when an attack does happen, surplus lines policies typically provide immediate access to breach response experts. That can mean round-the-clock forensics, legal guidance, public relations support, and help notifying affected customers.

Many policies also cover business interruption, ransom payments, and data recovery — protections that can mean the difference between surviving an attack and shutting down.

The demand is growing. Florida businesses secured more than 25,091 cyber liability policies through surplus lines carriers last year, totaling more than $286 million in premium, according to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office.

A call to action

Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it’s a boardroom, financial, and reputational issue. Florida businesses must treat it that way. Take Cybersecurity Awareness Month as a cue to: Review your defenses and update your training. Audit the vendors and software tools that connect to your systems.

Talk to your insurance broker about whether your coverage matches today’s threats — and whether surplus lines solutions can fill the gaps.

Vigilance is not optional, and protection is not just about defense. It’s about resilience. Cyberattacks may be inevitable, but business failure is not.

With proactive planning and the right coverage in place, Florida businesses can withstand today’s threats and emerge stronger tomorrow.

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Stephen Shea, CPCU, ARM, CIOP, is Executive Director of Underwriting Operations for Bass Underwriters in Plantation, and a member of the Florida Surplus Lines Association.