Page 29 - BusinessWest September 5, 2022

Into the Breach
Failing to Prepare for Cyberthreats Can Prove Costly
Insurance
WBy Joseph Bednar access to a regional accounting firm’s computer sys- tem, and also deleted files. After ransom was paid,
hen hackers gained access
to a large retailer’s computer network through scam emails to employees, more than 900 store locations were affected,
and 2 million customers were impacted before the company was alerted by a security blogger six months later. That led to several class-action lawsuits against the company, attorney generals in multiple states opened investigations, and the affected credit-card companies issued fines.
In another case, a ransomware attack blocked all
it took several days to restore the applications and recover deleted files from a backup. As a result, the firm was unable to meet tax-filing deadlines, caus- ing brand and reputation damage.
Then there was a company that provides tech- nicians to a laptop manufacturer’s repair center. While a young woman’s laptop was in the custody of technicians at the center, her Facebook account was hacked, and several sexually explicit photos were posted to it. She negotiated a quick multi-million- dollar settlement with the laptop manufacturer, which demanded, in turn, that the staffing company
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