A message from Towergate regarding Cyber Risks

Cyber criminals don’t care that you’re a care home

With the cost-of-living crisis hitting hard, care businesses around the country are fighting to cut costs where they can. As a result, many businesses are overlooking vital protection to save money – and unwittingly jeopardising their bottom line in the process.

Weakest Link

Many people wrongly assume that cyber-attackers only target large organisations. The truth is that cybercriminals will often target smaller organisations as they have weaker protection in place.

The nature of the kind of data that a care home stores means they’re particularly vulnerable to data theft attacks. It isn’t just service users data at risk of being stolen either, but the private information of employees, too.

Outsourcing your IT systems is a great way to access scalable and affordable IT security solutions however many of these providers will have contractual exclusions meaning that the business will still be liable for notifying customers of a data breach even if the supplier was victim to the attack.

Using a third-party security provider will also not mitigate the risk of data leaks therefore it is important that there is a clearly defined framework and protocols for both recognising and reporting any suspected or actual Cyber events.

In the event of a data breach, each individual may be entitled to claim for damages which may come with resultant legal fees. Depending on the severity of the breach, and the number of individuals affected, the sums involved can be devastating. Due to the sums involved, cyber incidents are excluded under most business policies, and a specialist policy is required.

What to do in the event of a cyber attack

If your business falls victim to a cyberattack, the first thing you’ll want to do is minimise the risk of threat actors accessing other areas of your company systems. Consult your internal processes and IT teams who might advise you to remove the affected machines from the network, change your password, etc, depending on the problem at hand.

Once this is done, there’s a number of potential actions that may need to be taken depending on the severity of the breach. These may include contacting the Information Commissioners Office or making contact with affected data subjects.

Join Our Webinar

For further discussion and practical insights, join our webinar on Monday 19th May 2025 from 11:00 – 12:00

Find out more

Contact Richard Barnes at Towergate on 07768 314 298 or email him: richard.barnes@towergate.co.uk or email caredivision@towergate.co.uk to arrange a callback.

Towergate Insurance is a trading name of Advisory Insurance Brokers Limited. Registered in England Company No. 4043759, Registered Office: 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London, EC3R 7PD. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.