Risk Management

The commercial insurance landscape is more complex than ever. Yet, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to invest in the cornerstones of coverage to protect their assets, employees and reputations. 

Forgoing insurance in the new year would be a grave mistake, especially if you want to ensure organizational resilience and see sustainable growth. Although every dollar counts, there are specific insurance policies you should not go without. These four coverage options are becoming increasingly accessible and are worthwhile investments for 2026.

Keeping a business at the top of their game requires significant time and resources, especially when aiming to stand out in increasingly competitive industries. However, a business’s ability to succeed today requires more than great marketing strategies and a strong team.

Cybersecurity remains an essential element that all businesses need to master. The reality is that there are countless threats just below the surface, with cybercriminals always looking for their next victim. Ransomware attacks, for example, affect hundreds of thousands of businesses every year, and new strains of malware are becoming harder and harder to combat.

Introduction

Identity theft, fraud and money laundering are increasing risks to businesses and other financial institutions in the modern digital economy where they change rapidly. In order to protect themselves and adhere to the regulations, companies employ the practice of checking a customer, commonly referred to as KYC verification, or Know Your Customer. KYC verification is an indispensable part of the global financial ecosystem, which is aimed at determining the identity of the customer and providing access to financial products or services.

With the increasingly regulatory financial environment, it is essential to know and clarify Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) of a business to observe and ensure compliance and minimize risks of fraud. With the growing sophistication of financial crimes, regulators around the world have given a significant focus on UBO compliance as one of the components of anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks. UBO identification is not a mere regulatory requirement, but also an effective risk management tool that helps companies to establish transparent business relations and protect themselves against illegal operations.

Conducting a physical security audit is essential for businesses that want to safeguard their people, property and information. It systematically examines the facility, policies, technology and human factors to discover weaknesses in how an organization protects its physical assets. Done well, it helps prevent loss, legal liability, damage to reputation and operational disruptions.

The line between reality and fiction has been getting blurry in recent years, due to the emergence of the deepfake engineering. It is an influential technology that manipulates audio and video content using the methods of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning and has brought about a novel dimension of media production. Although the possibilities offered by deepfakes are hard to deny, the technology is also severely threatening privacy, security, and trust in the population, so now more than ever, detection of deepfakes is highly important.

The rollout of 5G networks is helping business operations and opening new opportunities for innovation and a better customer experience. However, these advancements also bring cybersecurity considerations.

More organizations are prioritizing the adoption of 5G, and they face several challenges and evolving threats. Without the right security policies in place, several risks can compromise sensitive data and disrupt operations. Fortunately, knowing about the potential downsides and benefits of 5G can help businesses invest with safety in mind.

One corrupt table or misconfigured bucket can stall an entire supply chain run. Fortunately, a clear-headed backup strategy turns that existential threat into a five-minute inconvenience.

Data Loss Reality Check

The numbers behind data loss read like a cautionary thriller. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report pegs the average incident at $4.88 million, including everything from emergency forensics to months of churned customers. Yet budgets alone can’t capture the scale of disruption.

Surveillance cameras are supposed to protect assets and deter criminals, but they can easily become a liability if a hacker hijacks them. Luckily, if the organization has a robust security posture, this fate is relatively easy to avoid. What can information technology (IT) teams and business leaders do to secure these systems?

How Secure Is Your Surveillance System?

Many modern surveillance systems are constantly online to streamline data transmission and enable remote, real-time monitoring. This connection makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cybercriminals can use the Shodan search engine to browse internet-connected devices until they find an open network port. 

Small-business owners have likely read about using a firewall for their websites, installing antivirus software on computers and insisting on strong passwords. However, the most serious security threats may not come from where you think they will. Sometimes, everyday risks pose the biggest danger. 

In addition to the massive technological changes with artificial intelligence (AI), criminals look for any slight advantage to gain access to data or your physical location. Here are some hidden areas you might not have considered before and how to secure them today.