Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Blog

On November 3, 2017, Securityroundtable.org published an article highlighting the vulnerabilities businesses face in a world of e-commerce and interconnectivity, and spotlighted a crisis-planning panel hosted by Hunton & Williams held on November 1. Speakers at the event included Lisa Sotto, chair of the Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice at Hunton & Williams; Eric Friedberg, Co-President of Stroz Friedberg; Stephen Gannon, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer of Citizens Financial Group; Rick Howard, Chief Security Officer of Palo Alto Networks; Bryan Rose, Managing Director of Stroz Friedberg; Ari Mahairas, Special Agent in Charge of Special Operations/Cyber Division of the FBI; Walter Andrews, Partner at Hunton & Williams; and Tom Ricketts, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Aon Risk Solutions.

Whether the issue is prevention or risk mitigation, cybersecurity should be at the top of the corporate agenda. As discussed at the event and in the article, Sotto explained that “the cyber environment has just exploded…We could not have predicted this five years ago. There is no question that cybersecurity is a top priority for C-suites and boards. It is now recognized as a basic risk issue by every company.” Andrews, chair of the insurance coverage practice at Hunton & Williams, addressed the insurability of cybersecurity risks, explaining that “we’ve seen a sea change in a lot of areas in the last two years…There will always be liability no matter what, but cyber insurance has gone from a product a few companies acquired to one held by almost all. In fact, today regulators and boards require it.” Sotto concluded that while preparation is necessary and prevention is possible, the cyber landscape is “only going to get worse.”

Sponsors for the event included Stroz Friedberg, Pal Alto Networks and Egon Zehnder. For a recap of the event, read the full Securityroundtable.org article.