In the wake of high-profile attacks by Russian-based cybercriminals on Colonial Pipeline, operator of the largest refined fuel pipeline in the United States, on JBS Foods, the world’s largest meat processor, and targeting a vulnerability in Kaseya software to impact hundreds of managed service providers and their customers, ransomware has jumped again to the top of the agenda of board and C-suite meetings.

These high-profile incidents show that ransomware attacks are still a significant business/operational and legal risk for global companies. Colonial Pipeline paid $5 million to resolve its attack, JBS $11 million, and the group responsible for an attack on Acer demanded $50 million. While a decryptor became available for Kaseya victims, that serves as an exception to the overall trend.

This is not just a matter of a few victims making the news. Security vendor Chainalysis reported a 311% spike in total amounts paid by victims in 2020 compared to 2019, with no signs the trend is slowing. Sophos recently reported that more victims are paying the ransoms and that attackers are increasingly coupling extortion with encrypting files, among other findings. Addressing the growing threat of ransomware has become a priority for the EU, with calls for coordination across member-states.

With this interactive webinar, Crowell & Moring’s cybersecurity team wants to give company lawyers the opportunity to get up to speed on the most recent incidents, to understand how companies deal with them, and to get insights on how to prepare for and respond to them.