Are You Insured Against Ransomware? You Should Be.
Ah, insurance: one of the most critical expenses that lawyers need -- yet so poorly understand. At least, lawyers may not fully grasp the important of certain types of insurance. Take ransomware, for instance. Does your firm have it? If not, do you need it?
There's a New Attack in Town
We're hoping that most firms haven't yet tasted the bitterness of being taken for a ride by one of the many email scams out there. One of the more legendary of these includes the "Nigerian Prince" email. These were the bane of many laymen and professionals because, for a while, they preyed on the promise of an easy buck mixed with a dash of opportunity to humanitarianism. Fortunately, most of us are too cynical too fall for Nigerian Prince-type scams anymore.
The lastest thing is ransomware. And by it's name it should be clear to you that something is being held hostage: your computer (or lately, your phone). Insurance broker AON has stated that ransomware insurance purchases are steadily increasing this year. And if this is a surprise to you, this indicates that you're probably behind the times when it comes to your system's vulnerability.
Professional Liability Insurance
According to AON, most firms are generally under the impression that professional liability insurance covers pretty much anything. Tom Ricketts, the company's SVP, says that this is not the case.
Ransomware is such a novel things these days that one can bet the house that their policy makes no mention of such an attack. In other words, you're not covered for the type of cyberattack that is becoming hackers' new favorite method.
Review Your Policy
If you're a small firm, you can relax a little. Hackers are still going after the big fish: the firms with 500+ attorneys, the marlins of the sea. You're probably a guppy. For now, you can get cracking with encryption and put off getting ransomware insurance for another year or so. But know this: there will come a time when ransomware will become so prolific that it will become part of your insurance. But by then, competition would have depressed coverage rates -- or at least we hope.
Related Resources:
- 'Do Not Track' is a Bust, So EFF Debuts 'Privacy Badger' (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Mass. Cops Hit by 'Ransomware' Attack, Must Buy Back Own Files (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- Alleged Pedo's Computer Gets Locked by Virus, Turns Himself In (FindLaw's Technologist) How Will Blockchain Technology Change the Practice of Law? (FindLaw's Technologist)