Italian SMEs urged to adopt cyber insurance amid rising ransomware threats

Nearly half of Italian small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) have experienced a cyber‑attack in the past year, yet most lack specific cyber‑insurance coverage. The average data‑breach cost for European firms now tops €4.3 million, and ransomware incidents typically halt production for about 21 days, costing €8 000‑€25 000 per day for a manufacturing SME.

Cyber insurance policies can cover direct losses such as system restoration, data recovery, production downtime and lost revenue, as well as incident‑response expenses, third‑party liability, ransom payments, extortion threats and reputational damage. Premiums are reduced for companies that demonstrate strong security measures, including ISO 27001 certification, compliance with NIS2, implementation of the NIST CSF 2.0 framework, multi‑factor authentication, tested backups, documented disaster‑recovery plans, regular vulnerability assessments and staff training.

Banks, large contractors and public administrations are increasingly making cyber insurance a contractual prerequisite, prompting Italian SMEs to consider it a necessary risk‑management tool.