Ride the Lightning

BakerHostetler Forms SWAT Team to Help Clients Deal with Active Ransomware Attacks

July 10, 2017

I am not usually interested in the semi-spammy press releases that flood my Inbox, but one did catch my attention, announcing that BakerHostetler, in the wake of the NotPetya and WannaCry assaults, has established a SWAT team to help clients deal with active ransomware attacks. According to the release, this team is different from a typical incident response team. The SWAT team is comprised of members of several practice groups which have handled thousands of cybersecurity incidents, including hundreds of ransomware matters over the last few years.

SWAT Team members address issues that go along with ransomware attacks – like whether or not to pay ransom and how, preserving crucial evidence when systems are down, engagement of law enforcement at the highest levels for support, establishing compliant offline communications because systems are down, leveraging downtime processes from business continuity plans and disaster recovery plans, working with company Boards to remain focused on restoration of services and legal obligations, and developing communications for internal and external parties.

I suspect other law firms are forming similar teams – for a need that is now very pressing and didn't exist at all several years ago. Like one of my labs sniffing the air for interesting scents, the firm made a smart move by scanning the horizon for a new legal services opportunity. And that is an essential part of future-proofing firms and keeping legal services relevant.

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