Ransomware Case's Impact Could Be Far-Reaching

Scott Godes of the Washington, D.C., office was quoted in a Feb. 4 Business Insurance article, “Ransomware case's impact could be far-reaching,” regarding a recent U.S. District Court ruling in Maryland. Business Insurance magazine describes itself as “the authoritative news and information source for executives concerned about risk and the impact on their business.”

That article discusses a Jan. 23, 2020, ruling from the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland in National Ink & Stitch, LLC v. State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Co., No. 18-2138, slip op. (D. Md. Jan. 23, 2020). The court ruled that an insurance carrier had to provide coverage for losses due to damaged software, data, and hardware resulting from a ransomware event. The article discusses the court’s opinion and provides quotes from insurance coverage lawyers about the import of the ruling. Scott was quoted about the issues of “silent cyber,” an insurance industry term for insurance policies that provide coverage for cyber risks, even though they are not “cyberinsurance” policies. He also discussed how the case responds to insurance company arguments as to whether hardware can be damaged by ransomware and malware attacks.