At a panel presentation/discussion titled "Hacked: The Implications of a Cyber Breach," hosted by Travelers in New York City, Timothy Francis, enterprise lead for Cyber insurance, noted that although most of the cyber breaches that make the headlines are from large, national companies, the smaller breaches of local companies are far greater in number.

Francis noted that 62% of cyber-breach victims are small to mid-size businesses, which are at the greatest risk for an attack. Their level of preparation is low, and the costs of customer notification alone can be enough to do a small company irreparable financial harm.

Mark C. Greisiger, president of NetDiligence, which provides cyber risk assessment and data-breach crisis services, noted that healthcare and financial services are the two most affected industries at the moment. Those small to mid-sized financial services businesses include many of the insurance agents and brokers in the U.S.