Where companies are victimized by ransomware or email scams, their losses arise from payments made by an officer or employee of the company. In the case of ransomware, a company’s files are held hostage pending payment...more
Some important insurance decisions were handed down over the past month. We begin in Ohio, where public nuisance claims by state and local governments over opioids and lead paint were on full display. In Acuity, the...more
On August 12, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota dismissed a policyholder’s complaint seeking a declaration that $600,000 in social engineering fraud loss fell within a crime policy’s computer fraud...more
As an update to our March 8, 2022 blog post discussing coverage for phishing scams in the context of Ernst & Haas Mgt. Co. v. Hiscox, Inc., 23 F.4th 1195 (9th Cir. 2022), a new Alaska case relied on Ernst & Haas to find...more
Consider the following two scenarios resulting in identical losses, but potentially two entirely different insurance coverage outcomes. In the first instance, a thief hacks, or gains unauthorized entry, into an insured’s...more
Corporate policyholders often assume their computer fraud crime insurance will cover so-called social engineering thefts. Reasonably so. Fraudsters commit these crimes by using computers to trick innocent employees into...more
Typically, comprehensive cyber insurance policies, rather than commercial crime policies, respond to claims of data breach and other cybercrimes. With the rise in hacking and ransomware attacks worldwide, businesses that may...more
The Fifth Circuit has affirmed a district court ruling that a crime policy’s Computer Transfer Fraud coverage did not apply to losses incurred in connection with an email phishing scam. See Mississippi Silicon Holdings LLC v....more
A computer hacker may engage in malicious and criminal conduct, but that doesn’t mean that the conduct is “fraudulent.” In G&G Oil Company v. Continental Western Ins. Co., 2020 Ind. App. LEXIS 126 (Ind. Ct. App. Mr. 31,...more
A Mississippi federal district court became the latest to rule that Computer Fraud Transfer and Funds Transfer Fraud coverages were not applicable to losses resulting from an email phishing scam. In Miss. Silicon Holdings,...more
Media outlets recently reported that Barbara Corcoran, one of the judges on the popular ABC show “Shark Tank,” was the victim of a “spear phishing” scam. See, e.g.,...more
This week, in Crown Bank JJR Holding Company v. Great American Insurance Company, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23136 (D.N.J. Feb. 11, 2020), the New Jersey federal court held that loss from mis-wiring bank funds as a result of a...more
What You Need To Know: - Recent case law is trending favorably for policyholders to secure coverage for computer fraud claims under a wide array of insurance policies. - Because several types of policies may be...more
It is an all-too-common dilemma. As phishing schemes have become more prevalent and more sophisticated, businesses of all sizes have fallen victim to these attacks where a fraudster will use a spoofed email or other deceptive...more
The Situation: Businesses are increasingly at risk of social engineering crimes, and often their commercial insurance policies do not provide the full protection that they expected. The Result: Three recent decisions...more
Last week, the Vermont Supreme Court in Rainforest Chocolate, LLC v. Sentinel Insurance Company, 2018 VT LEXIS 240 (Vt. Dec. 28, 2018), held that the “False Pretense” exclusion in a business-owner policy did not exclude loss...more
The Sixth Circuit recently entered a ruling in American Tooling Center, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America, 2018 WL 3404708 (6th Cir. July 13, 2018), soundly rejecting a cyber carrier’s extremely narrow...more
Cyber incidents can take many forms—phishing, insider theft, SQL injection, malware, denial of service, session hijacking, credential farming, or just old fashion “hacking.” Although many of these attack vectors employ...more
In this month's Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine recent trends and court decisions, including a new law in Ohio that provides a safe harbor from tort-based data breach claims if the company adopts certain security...more
Fraudsters deploy different computer-related techniques but toward the same end – “gaming the system” for their own financial gain. Some victims turn to insurance for recovery. Four recent federal appellate decisions reveal...more
Locke Lord’s Insurance & Reinsurance Newsletter provides topical snapshots of recent developments in the fast-changing world of insurance. For further information on any of the subjects covered in the newsletter, please...more
In this month's edition of our Privacy & Cybersecurity Update, we examine Brazil's new data protection regulation, the French data protection authority's warning to two companies of potential GDPR violations and the U.S....more
In recent years, courts across the country have considered policyholder’s claims for insurance coverage for so-called social engineering losses, e.g., losses that result from a criminal tricking a policyholder into wiring...more
As the number and sophistication of social engineering attacks increases, victims are examining their insurance policies to see if they are covered. In The Brick Warehouse LP v. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, 2017 ABQB...more