When U-Haul International Inc. experienced a break-in involving millions of customers, it wasn’t a failure of locks, cameras, or physical security. Thieves targeted an internal digital tool that quietly exposed sensitive customer information over time.
It’s an eye-opening illustration of how cyber risk quietly enters the self-storage environment. Not through dramatic system crashes, but through everyday operational technology that feels routine, trusted, and safe—until it isn’t. If you’ve got self-storage clients on your roster, cyber threats are embedded in how facilities already operate, making preparation, prevention, and protection a core part of modern self-storage insurance conversations.
Prepare: Understanding Where Data Breach Risk Really Lives
Most self-storage owners and managers don’t think of themselves as custodians of sensitive data, focusing instead on day-to-day operations, safety, security, and sales. Yet tenant names, payment information, identification documents, access codes, and lease agreements often live across multiple digital platforms, many of them managed by third parties. In recent years, software providers serving the self-storage industry have experienced breaches where tenant information was accessed without authorization and later surfaced on the dark web.
In these situations, attackers exploited trusted systems that sat quietly in the background of day-to-day operations. Sometimes it looks like a vendor update, a routine login, or a platform the operator assumes is already secure because it’s widely used. Preparation starts with recognizing that cyber exposure doesn’t stop at the facility’s firewall. It extends to every system that touches tenant data, every digital access control, and every credential granted by a third party. Until that full scope is understood, it’s easy for meaningful vulnerabilities to hide in plain sight.
Prevent: Reducing Risk Before It Becomes a Claim
During post-incident analysis, the same themes appear again and again. Credentials were shared for convenience. Multi-factor authentication wasn’t enabled because it felt unnecessary. Legacy systems stayed in place because “they still worked.” Vendor access was granted broadly and never revisited. In some cases, a single phishing email, like impersonating a known vendor or regional manager, is enough to give attackers a foothold. From there, they move laterally through systems that were never designed with breach containment in mind.
To prevent these breaches from occurring, remind clients that preventing these scenarios doesn’t require a sophisticated IT department. Just a little discipline can go a long way:
- Implement clear password standards.
- Require multi-factor authentication across email and cloud platforms.
- Define access permissions tied to job roles.
- Provide regular employee training that teaches staff how to recognize and slow down suspicious requests.
- Create documentation that shows these practices are more than informal guidelines.
That documentation becomes especially important if a cyber event leads to a claim or lawsuit. It helps establish that reasonable safeguards were in place.
Protect: When Prevention Isn’t Enough
Even well-run (and well-intentioned) self-storage operations can’t eliminate cyber risk entirely. Attacks are becoming faster, more automated, and more difficult to distinguish from legitimate activity. Artificial intelligence has made phishing messages more convincing. Ransomware groups increasingly use double-extortion tactics, stealing data before locking systems and threatening public exposure. And reliance on cloud-based infrastructure means that a single system outage can disrupt leasing, payments, gate access, and customer communication all at once.
This is often the point where operators discover that their existing insurance coverage doesn’t fit the loss they’re experiencing. General liability policies weren’t built to address forensic investigations, tenant notification requirements, ransomware response, or operational shutdowns caused by cyber events. Through its specialty self-storage insurance programs, MiniCo helps agents place cyber insurance that reflects how these losses actually unfold. That includes not just liability protection, but access to remediation services that support breach response, recovery, and continuity when systems fail.
Agent Checklist: Cyber Readiness Signals to Watch For
Use this checklist to help guide client conversations:
- Is multi-factor authentication used across email and cloud systems?
- Can the client clearly explain who has access to management platforms and why?
- Have employees received recent phishing or cyber awareness training?
- Are cybersecurity policies documented and enforced?
- Do third-party vendors have defined, limited access to systems?
- Could the client quickly explain what tenant data is stored and where?
- Is there a plan for business continuity if systems go offline?
Answering “no” to any of these doesn’t mean it’s a bad risk, but it does highlight where cyber exposure may be underestimated.
FAQs: Cyber Risk & Self-Storage Insurance
Is cyber insurance necessary for small self-storage operators?
Yes. Smaller operators often use the same digital systems as larger companies, but with fewer internal resources to manage cyber risk.
Does general liability insurance cover data breaches?
Typically, no. General liability policies aren’t designed to cover data breaches, ransomware, or cyber extortion costs.
How do most cyber incidents start in self-storage businesses?
Most begin with compromised credentials, phishing emails, or unsecured vendor access.
If a vendor causes the breach, is the operator still responsible?
Often, yes. Operators may still face notification obligations, operational disruption, and damage to their reputation.
What does cyber insurance cover aside from legal liability?
Cyber insurance can include breach response services, forensic investigations, notification costs, ransomware support, and business interruption.
When should agents introduce cyber coverage to self-storage clients?
Before a loss occurs. Cyber risk is operational and ongoing, not hypothetical.
Prepare, Prevent, and Protect with MiniCo
MiniCo’s self-storage BOP includes data compromise coverage, available as optional coverage, as part of our exclusive Commercial Self-Storage insurance program. Data compromise coverage enables agents to arm clients with access to critical remediation support, including breach investigation, notification, credit monitoring, ransomware response, regulatory support, and recovery services. If you’re working with self-storage risks and want to better understand how cyber exposure fits into your client’s overall program, connect with MiniCo to start the conversation.
