![](https://d3ilqtpdwi981i.cloudfront.net/SB_Ql-QiCUEBlrF30x4vtBUAwvU=/425x550/smart/https://bepress-attached-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ee/fe/e9/eefee9ff-d4bb-4d2f-8145-d92130bd2212/file.jpg)
Popular Press
Cyberlaw wonks squint at NotPetya insurance smackdown: Should 'war exclusion' clauses apply to network hacks?
The Register
(2019)
Abstract
The defining feature of cyberwarfare is the fact that both the weapon and the target is the network itself. In June 2017, the notorious file-scrambling software nasty NotPetya caused global havoc that affected government agencies, power suppliers, healthcare providers and big biz. The ransomware sought out vulnerabilities and used a modified version of the NSA's leaked EternalBlue SMB exploit, generating one of the most financially costly cyber-attacks to date.Among the victims was US food giant Mondelez – the parent firm of Oreo cookies and Cadburys chocolate – which is now suing insurance company Zurich American for denying a £76m claim (PDF) filed in October 2018, a year after the NotPetya attack. According to the firm, the malware rendered 1,700 of its servers and 24,000 of its laptops permanently dysfunctional. In January, Zurich rejected the claim, simply referring to a single policy exclusion which does not cover "hostile or warlike action in time of peace or war" by "government or sovereign power; the military, naval, or air force; or agent or authority".
Keywords
- NotPetya,
- cyberwarfare,
- ransomware,
- Zurich,
- Mondelez,
- "an act of war",
- cybersecurity
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer July 26, 2019
Citation Information
Natasha Gooden and Subhajit Basu. "Cyberlaw wonks squint at NotPetya insurance smackdown: Should 'war exclusion' clauses apply to network hacks?" The Register (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/subhajitbasu/105/