November 5, 2025
A new approach is needed to protect SMEs from cyber attacks
New IT technologies have sustainably increased process speed and agility and have thus resulted in the development of diverse growth markets. The close networking of companies, suppliers, and consumers via digital channels and increasingly also via the Internet of Things has led to innovations (especially in construction sector) and accelerates the scalability of business models. At the same time, the increasing networking of information within companies and in the economy has led to significant increase in risk guided. In today's world, risks for companies are complex, unpredictable, and highly interdependent.
Cyber risks pose a significant threat to companies. But what are Cyber risks exactly? Die Cyber risks definition includes threats such as data loss, ransomware attacks, and phishing. Cyber risk examples show how such threats can paralyze companies, whether through stolen customer data or extortion. In view of the increasing number of cyber attacks, a strong Cyber Security essential. In this blog article, we will discuss the most important Cyber risks explain and based on Cyber risk examples Show how companies can protect themselves.
Infobox: In a latest publication In Baugewerbe Magazine, our managing director Vincenz Klemm explains the cyber risks for one of the most affected industries, the construction sector. Read the article here.
Historically speaking, cyber attacks were just one of many risks that companies faced. With the increasing role of technology in the core processes of every modern organization, cyber risks have become a top priority for managing directors. And recent years have shown that this development is justified: The number of cyber incidents, the amount of claims and claims costs are rising to new highs year after year. Therefore, in 2022, cyber risk = business risk.
Cyber risks are difficult to identify and unpredictable. Ransomware attacks are taking place more and more frequently, are becoming more technically complex, and the required ransoms are constantly increasing. According to the Sophos study State of Ransomeware 2022 In 2021, 67% of the German companies surveyed were affected by a ransomware attack. At the same time, the damage potential of ransomware is increasing rapidly. Ransoms of 204,695 US dollars were paid on average - an increase of 21% compared to the previous year (Cybercrime Federal Situation Report 2021). According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, the total annual damage in 2021 amounted to around 24.3 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of more than 450%. It is also important to understand that anyone can be the target of such an attack: companies, organizations, institutions, but also SMEs.
Unfortunately, many companies are not yet sufficiently protecting their networks to prevent cyber attacks by criminals in the long term. While simple solutions such as installing an antivirus program and implementing firewalls used to be sufficient to prevent cyber attacks, these measures are no longer sufficient in view of increasingly complex attack vectors. Today, companies must proactively identify weak points in order to close them early and sustainably, and thus prevent intrusion into their networks.
Insurance companies are there to provide a sense of security. Traditional cyber insurance companies are unable to do this because they were not built for a digital world. The symptoms of this include sharply rising premiums, the termination of entire portfolios, and more and more exclusions. The reasons are as follows:
Continuing to use the old model is a risk in itself. Cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated, more and more data is being stolen and compromised, and activity on the dark web is increasing rather than declining. Companies need help to protect themselves — an approach that is proactive, flexible and smart.
We offer this new solution. The product, Cyber Safe, offers integrated cyber security and insurance. In addition to cyber insurance coverage, Baobab enables companies to actively monitor cyber risks through free, weekly vulnerability scans and to take immediate countermeasures in close coordination with Baobab's cyber security experts and partner network.
Baobab makes the lost sense of security through cyber insurance possible again. To this end, baobab is based on three pillars:
Risk identification
By scanning all externally accessible IT infrastructure, which is carried out both before the policy is taken out and weekly during the insurance period, weak points are identified at an early stage. In addition to increasing transparency for the company, the scan enables more accurate pricing and gives brokers the opportunity to create offers for the customer within a few minutes.
Risk Mitigation Plan
Based on the scan results, a holistic risk reduction plan is created, which prioritizes concrete measures according to urgency and feasibility. This is tailored to the customer's individual risk situation. In this way, we provide SMEs with up-to-date protection against cyber risks.
risk reduction
Both cyber experts and a broad network of exclusive partners (e.g. password managers, backup solutions, email security) are available for implementation at market-leading conditions.
Cyber criminals are innovative. This means that the protective measures companies implement must be at least as innovative. Baobab helps close the gap and enables policyholders to focus on the most important thing: running their business successfully.
Scan here your company to determine your risk
