The “Peace Garden State” Offers Innovative Cybersecurity & Insurance Program for State/Local Agencies  

[Yes, we didn’t know that’s North Dakota’s office nickname.] How to help state/local governments improve their cybersecurity when cyber employees are scarce, threats many and insurance expensive? An innovative approach is being run in North Dakota, where the state offers SOC and managed security services and users can obtain a 4% discount on cyber insurance. … Read more

Whoever Underwrote this Hospital System May Not Be Sleeping Well

…unless the hospital has no cyber insurance, in which case the board and CEO are the ones with insomnia. Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, a 772-bed hospital with specialty care centers, has shut down its IT system and is diverting emergency patients to other hospitals. The apparent cause: a ransomware attack. “‘We continue to divert some EMS … Read more

Ransomware Payments Down & Cyber Insurance Played Important Role 

“Bill Siegel, CEO and co-founder of Coveware, says that insurance companies have influenced proactive enterprise security and incident response preparedness in a positive manner in recent years. After cyber-insurance firms sustained substantial losses in 2019 and 2020, many have tightened their underwriting and renewal terms and now require insured entities to have minimum standards like … Read more

Executive No Doubt Relieved His $107K Expense Report Went Through During  Dispute Over Ransomware 

Yet another report of a dispute caused by the lack of standardized terms in cyber liability insurance. The District Court ultimately ruled that insurer Federal Insurance did indeed need to cover the loss. “In Yoshida Foods International, LLC v. Federal Insurance Company, the policyholder suffered a ransomware attack demanding payment of $107,074.20 in cryptocurrency to … Read more

Ransomware Days = the New Snow Days 

The Des Moines, Iowa school system has called in its (unnamed) cyber insurer, the FBI and DHS after an apparent ransomware attack, which put 30,000 students out of school for two days. While many students were doubtless thrilled to be at home with no access to online learning, the school district is responding as if … Read more

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