Information Technology Insurance

Lenovo hit by cyber attack - Insurance Business Magazine FEB 2015

Chinese tech firm Lenovo isn’t having a good month. Following revelations about software that it included in some laptops that targeted users with adverts but was then found to make systems vulnerable , and at least one lawsuit being launched as a result; now it’s own website has been hacked.

The hackers group Lizard Squad, which also claimed responsibility for hacking Sony Pictures, says it launched the attack. Among the impact of the breach was the redirection of traffic to Lenovo’s website. Experts say that the hackers managed to gain access to the site’s DNS servers which convert a web address into the IP address, the series of numbers that the internet uses. The vulnerability appears to have been with Lenovo’s domain name registrar Webnic. There have also been the released of confidential Lenovo emails.

“The reality is that small businesses get hacked far more often than big ones,” Insureon CEO Ted Devine said in a news release. “But you’re not going to turn on the evening news and hear about the florist on the corner getting breached.”

From the recent attacks on Target, Home Depot and others, then most recently, the US Army itself being hacked, all underline the importance of this cyber liability exposure drum our office has been beating for our clients over the past 18-24 months.

No, simply buying insurance is not the solution, it is only there to help clean up AFTER something happens. Prevention is the first step, speak to your IT professionals, get them to 'crash test' your business's data storage and use procedures. A small error in this regard may only cost the corporation money, a more serious incident could land squarely at the door step of the shareholders personal assets..........topic to be taken seriously? For sure!

The Insured is operating an independent business for over a decade as a specialist in networking services, support and maintenance.

Due to internal modifications by the customer, a second database was created by the customer unknown to the Insured. Upon installation of a replacement server, the Insured failed to discover the new database and therefore the data was not migrated and was destroyed when the old server was recycled.

The database contained detailed billing information and the customer sued the Insured for damages exceeding $250,000.

Litigation is ongoing and legal fees paid to date are in excess of $20,000.

This is for a claim that the Insured did not even know about, can you imagine the damages if it was something they did in error? Could this happen to you? Pick up the phone and give us a call! 905-696-9090 or Toll Free 1-800-900-2009 and we will tell you if it could!

There are insurance policies designed specifically for small start-up companies or one/two person firms that do not necessarily need high limits for Errors and Omissions (E&O) coverage , but do require some form of E&O coverage. These types of programmes are typically designed to provide full package coverage, including a minimum $100,000 E&O Limit.

Annual premiums for these basic policies are usually under $2,000.00!