Jared Zola, John D. Heintz, and Justin F. Lavella
Insurance for Property Damage and Business Interruption Losses
Businesses and communities throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Harvey that is expected to wreak havoc this weekend. Harvey is unique because it quickly and unexpectedly transformed from what was predicted to be a smaller-scale storm to a Category 2 hurricane—and may be upgraded to Category 3 before it makes landfall. This transformation has left many major businesses and facilities in the storm’s expected path with significantly less time to prepare, and in some cases shutdown operation, than would ordinarily be expected. Continue reading “Insurance Recovery for Losses Related to Hurricane Harvey”
According to FBI data, cyber-criminals are on pace this year to collect approximately $1 billion through cyber extortion. This is a practice in which extortionists threaten to cripple a computer system or obtain and/or release confidential information unless their demands (usually for money) are satisfied. Although much of this money is coerced from individuals in increments of several hundred dollars, more and more organizations are finding themselves in cyber extortionists’ crosshairs, including documented incidents against local governments, schools, hospitals and businesses in a range of industries. As cyber extortionists increasingly target organizations rather than individuals, security professionals fear the costs of cyber extortion incidents could dramatically increase.