Cybercrime in South Africa is escalating at an alarming rate. According to the latest Sophos report on cyber insurance and cyber defences, 90% of organisations that experienced ransomware attacks in 2024 had cyber insurance. That might sound reassuring—until you consider that nearly half (47%) of organisations with cyber insurance had part of their claim denied, highlighting how incomplete cyber defences can impact payouts.

This statistic points to a critical reality: cyber insurance alone is not a safety net. To qualify for a policy—and more importantly, to benefit from it when an incident occurs—organisations must have the right security foundations in place. As Duxbury Networking, the South African distributor of Sophos solutions, we have seen how essential it is to treat cyber insurance and cyber defence as two sides of the same coin.

The cyber insurance wake-up call

Cyber insurance has become a hot topic in boardrooms, especially following high-profile breaches and ransomware attacks in recent years. The premise is simple: a cyber insurance policy helps cover the costs associated with recovering from a breach, including legal fees, forensic investigation, customer notification, and even ransom payments in certain cases.

But the reality is far more complex. In Sophos’s 2024 global research, 97% of organisations who purchased a cyber insurance policy said that they invested in improving their defences to optimise their insurance position. Almost two-thirds (64%) invested in their cyber defences. These include multi-factor authentication (MFA), regular patch management, endpoint protection, and active monitoring—all of which must be provable and operational at the time of claim.

That means a policy is not just a checkbox; it is the outcome of a comprehensive cyber defence strategy.

Security posture as an underwriting factor

Today’s insurers are highly selective when it comes to underwriting cyber risk. They assess the strength of an organisation’s defences before setting premiums or providing coverage. Sophos data shows that organisations with strong cybersecurity postures are far more likely to receive full coverage and faster payouts. In contrast, businesses with outdated systems, poor visibility, or fragmented security tools face exclusions, higher deductibles, or outright denial.

This is especially relevant for South African SMEs that may assume cyber insurance will “cover the gaps” in their defences. In practice, insurers are now demanding evidence of continuous monitoring, threat detection and response capabilities, and clearly defined incident response plans.

How Sophos helps businesses qualify and recover

One of the reasons we have partnered with Sophos is that their solutions are designed with cyber insurance requirements in mind. Through the Sophos Central platform, organisations gain unified visibility into their network, endpoints, cloud workloads, and more—all backed by AI-powered threat detection and response.

Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) has become a crucial enabler for many South African businesses. Not only does it provide 24/7 monitoring and rapid response to active threats, but it also creates audit-ready logs and proof of compliance—something insurers increasingly require during investigations.

Sophos also offers guided incident response services to help organisations navigate the post-attack chaos. This includes real-time support, forensic analysis, root cause identification, and recommendations to close gaps—exactly what underwriters are looking for when assessing risk and validating claims.

Cyber insurance should not create complacency

While insurance is a smart investment, it should never become a reason to deprioritise proactive defence. A policy does not stop an attack—it simply helps cover the costs after the fact. Sophos found that organisations with both cyber insurance and MDR experienced a lower impact from ransomware attacks, including shorter recovery times and lower total cost of damage.

In other words, the combination of strong defences and financial protection leads to the best outcomes.

A strategic approach for South African businesses

The South African threat landscape is becoming more complex, especially with increasing regulatory pressure around POPIA compliance, rising ransomware incidents, and the cyber skill shortage impacting local businesses. For this reason, we believe organisations must take a strategic view of cyber risk.

Ask yourself: is your current security posture strong enough to pass an insurer’s scrutiny? Do you have visibility across your endpoints, networks, and users? Are your staff trained to detect phishing or social engineering attacks?

If the answer is no—or even “I’m not sure”—then now is the time to reassess your approach. Cyber insurance may play a role in your recovery plan, but it must sit atop a foundation of layered, intelligent, and actively managed defences.

At Duxbury Networking, we work closely with our partners to help them achieve that balance. With Sophos as our technology partner, we are proud to offer not just world-class tools, but the guidance and support businesses need to strengthen their resilience.

Because in cybersecurity, coverage starts long before the policy.

For more information contact Duxbury Networking at +27 (0) 11 351 9800, info@duxnet.co.za, www.duxbury.co.za