Payouts from insurance policies may fuel ransomware attacks
September 20, 2019 Kathleen Foody - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSCHICAGO – The call came on a Saturday in July delivering grim news: Many of the computer systems serving the government of LaPorte County, Indiana, had been taken hostage with ransomware. The hackers demanded $250,000. No way, thought County Commission…
Scheer promises to create ‘Canada Cyber Safe’ certification for digital
September 9, 2019 Giuseppe Valiante - THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – Conservative party Leader Andrew Scheer is trying to reassure Canadians that if elected, his government would better protect their personal information following recent high-profile security breaches at major corporations that compromised the data of millions of Canadians. A…
New laws needed to assign cyber fraud liability: Court
August 13, 2019 Colin Perkel - THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – A deputy judge is calling for passage of clear laws on which innocent party should bear responsibility for financial losses related to cyberfraud. In calling for legislation, Ontario Deputy Judge Shane Kelford said it’s clear the law has…
How it happened: Capital One’s $100-million cyber loss
July 30, 2019 by Greg MeckbachCredit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp. expects that a massive cyber breach affecting millions of Canadians could cost the firm more than $100 million. “Expected costs are largely driven by customer notifications, credit monitoring, technology costs, and legal support,”…
Observations on cyber from Canadian Lloyd’s coverholder
July 15, 2019 by Greg MeckbachYour commercial clients may be able to get cyber insurance with fewer underwriting questions than in the past, but you should still pay close attention to those clients’ risk management practices, the head of a Toronto managing general agent suggests.…
These behaviours raise your client’s cyber risk
June 28, 2019 by Greg MeckbachDo your clients know how often their workers click on links they receive in emails that should have been flagged as suspicious? “I wouldn’t find it unreasonable for an insurer to ask questions about phishing click-through rates,” Srinath Sampath, senior…
Data breach affects nearly 3 million Desjardins Group members
June 20, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – Desjardins Group said Thursday the personal information of more than 2.9 million of its members has been shared with individuals outside of the organization. The Quebec-based financial institution said the breach affects 2.7 million individual members and 173,000…
The real reason for spike in cyber claims
June 17, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe number of reported cyber claims has jumped significantly, but it’s not because of the major breaches you’ve been reading in the headlines. Small to mid-sized organizations are at greater risk of cyber losses than large organizations, A.M. Best Company…
How this cyber breach defendant got a six-figure cost award
June 13, 2019 by Greg MeckbachDefendants who won a class-action lawsuit were recently awarded $166,000 to reimburse them for legal costs, but the plaintiffs are appealing. Casino Rama, located near Orillia, Ont. was the target of a cyber breach in 2016 by an unknown criminal.…
Nova Scotia Health Authority investigating possible privacy breach
June 10, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – The personal health information of nearly 3,000 people may have been compromised in a phishing attack, the Nova Scotia Health Authority says. The health authority said Monday that it is investigating a “potential” privacy breach affecting 2,841 patients.…
How the EU’s data privacy law will apply to your Canadian clients
June 5, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe European Union’s new data privacy law can affect your clients even if they don’t have offices in Europe, a cyber security expert with one of the world’s biggest brokerages warns. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect…
Huawei a small part of an ‘insurmountably hard problem’ of cybersecurity
May 22, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe controversy over telecommunications equipment from Chinese manufacturer Huawei is just the tip of a large cyber risk iceberg, an Internet security expert warns. “The question is, should we trust the country in which the company whose products and services…