CHICAGO, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CNN reported Thursday that 2 million users of Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and other sites were victims of a data breach involving stolen login credentials. While the incident is a black eye for these Internet giants, they likely have adequate funds to handle the fallout.

Smaller companies often aren't so lucky: data breaches cost about $188 per record breached, according to the Ponemon Institute's 2013 Cost of a Data Breach Study, with the average cost of a breach totaling $5.4 million. The good news, according to Ponemon, is that organizations with a data breach response plan in place prior to experiencing an incident can reduce the per-record cost of a breach by up to 47 percent. The bad news? Small companies that lose money from a data breach may sue their IT providers in hopes of recovering damages.

In response to the recent breaches at Google and Facebook, TechInsurance, the nation's leading provider of business insurance for small IT businesses, today released a guide that IT freelancers, contractors, and small-business owners can use to structure a response plan for their businesses and thus help minimize the financial impact of a breach at a client's company.

The free Data Breach Response Guide outlines steps for IT businesses to take following a data breach incident, including strategies for preventing future breaches.

"If it can happen to Google, it can happen to anyone," said Ted Devine, CEO of TechInsurance. "The smaller a business, the fewer resources it can dedicate to data security. Our IT customers who serve those smaller businesses face significant third-party liability exposure from clients without adequate data protection." This guide, he added, will help small IT businesses avoid lawsuits and minimize the costs associated with any client breaches that occur.

IT professionals can view the complete TechInsurance guide to recovering from a data breach here: http://www.techinsurance.com/blog/data-breach/data-breach-response-guide/.

About TechInsurance, an insureon Company

TechInsurance, the nation's leading online agent for small and micro businesses, provides an online destination where IT and technology business owners can find essential insurance, including Cyber Liability policies. For details, visit www.techinsurance.com.

Contact: Betsy Gregg, 224-595-3323, betsy@propllr.com

SOURCE TechInsurance