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April 27, 2019 10:34 pm

Is Cyberwarfare War? Insurers Balk At Paying For Some Cyberattacks

From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:In an era of unceasing cyberattacks, including cases of state-sponsored hacking, insurance companies are beginning to re-interpret an old line in their contracts known as the "war exclusion." Stripping away the metaphorical connotation of the term "cyberwarfare," big insurers like Zurich Insurance have decided that state-sponsored attacks are basically just plain warfare. This shift comes as the U.S. government is increasingly attributing state-sponsored cyberattacks to their alleged perpetrators, a development that some argue is a means of holding bad actors accountable. But the policy certainly doesn't seem to be doing any favors to the private sector. The maker of Oreo cookies was hit by 2017's "NotPetya" attack, but its insurer refused to cover its $100 million in losses, citing an exclusion for "hostile or warlike action in time of peace or war...by any government or sovereign power." Oreo called their response "unprecedented," saying the war exclusion has always been applied only to "conventional armed conflict" -- and not to cyber-attacks. Slashdot reader Lasrick argues that an insurance company win in court "could make cyberwar much more real -- and costly."

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