Cyber risk is often associated with office-based businesses, but a recent case handled by cyber insurance specialist CFC highlights just how dependent many traditional sectors have become on technology and the operational consequences when systems go down.
What happened?
A family-run dairy farm found itself locked out of critical systems after a ransomware attack. The criminals gained access through a remotely accessible system that wasn’t protected by multi-factor authentication (MFA), before encrypting key technology and demanding a £100,000 ransom.
The attack disrupted access to dairy management software, herd monitoring systems and other operational tools relied on to manage day-to-day farming activity. While staff were able to implement manual workarounds, the incident created significant operational pressure and raised concerns about the potential impact on animal welfare if systems remained unavailable for an extended period.
Fortunately, the farm had cyber insurance in place.
How cyber insurance avoided a £100,000 ransom
After the incident was reported, CFC’s incident response team helped contain the attack, investigate the ransomware variant and identify a route to recovery. By finding the correct decryption key, the team enabled the farm to regain access to its systems without paying the £100,000 ransom demand. The policy also responded to the financial impact of the interruption, including associated losses and mitigation costs.
The case serves as a reminder that cyber exposures extend well beyond traditional professional environments. From agriculture and manufacturing to logistics and retail, businesses increasingly depend on connected technology to keep operations running, making cyber resilience an important consideration across a broad range of client sectors.
Read the full case study
To learn more about the incident, the response and the role cyber insurance played in helping the business recover, download the full CFC case study here.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and a good reminder to take a closer look at your business’s cyber risks. Cyber incidents can happen to businesses of any size and the consequences can go well beyond the initial IT disruption. Data breaches, business interruption, financial loss and reputational damage can all have a significant impact.
It’s worth taking some time this month to review your cyber security measures and check that your insurance cover is still appropriate for the risks your business faces. If you have any questions around cyber risks facing your business or would like a cyber insurance quote please contact us.