Cyber insurance specialists, Towergate Insurance, are warning against the danger of your email address being hacked.  Email addresses are commonly used for online banking, shopping, social media networking sites, file sharing platforms, business related account and/software. Unfortunately, this widespread usage can leave people vulnerable to cybercrime. A compromised email inbox is a jackpot for a cyber criminal.

Marc Rocker, Head of Cyber at Towergate (soon to be Everywhen) commenting on what can happen if your email is hacked said: “After gaining access to your inbox, it’s easy for a cybercriminal to piece together a comprehensive picture of your life and work.  From there they can impersonate you. This could involve social engineering attacks against someone you know which might include your clients, signing you up for unwanted services that may send you spam or even using your information for criminal activities on the dark web.”

According to Towergate’s Cyber Security expert, common warning signs of a compromised email include being locked out of your account due to a changed password, unauthorised messages in your sent folder, contacts receiving spam from your address, multiple password reset requests from websites, and a sudden spike in incoming spam.

Act quickly

Marc Rocker explained: “It is important to act quickly to limit the damage, if you think you’ve been hacked. Firstly, you need to establish how your information was leaked. Was it a data breach. Did you fall victim to a phishing scam? Were you included on an exposed list?

“Websites such as ‘Have I been pwned’ or ‘Norton Breach Detector’ can help identify where your information has been leaked. Once you have identified the source of the data breach, check to see if they have taken any steps to address the problem or informed their users about the next steps.

If an email account is compromised, he recommends immediately changing the password to a strong, unique one, informing contacts to watch for suspicious messages, and reviewing account settings for changes such as auto-forwarding to an unknown address.

Rocker also advises enabling multifactor authentication, installing antivirus software to detect malicious activity, and, in some cases, creating a new email address and updating all connected accounts.

“These simple steps,” he added, “Can help to minimise the risk, and mitigate any potential damage caused by your email address being leaked.”

Worried about cybercrime?

When it comes to cybercrime, many SMEs don’t have sufficient cyber insurance. However, the reality is, the risk of cybercrime impacting your business far outweighs many other risks that you would cover for without a second thought. It’s time to get real about cybersecurity. To find out more about cyber insurance, call Towergate on 0330 029 5626 or visit the dedicated cyber insurance page at: www.towergate.com/more-products-and-services/cyber-data-and-crime-insurance/cyber-risk-management