18 January 2017News

Endurance brings in new cyber extortion response service

Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings has introduced a new service to allow its clients to better respond to ransomware and similar extortion events.

Endurance's breach assist counsel Mullen Coughlin, which offers incident response legal services, will coordinate with leading providers of forensic and response services to assist Endurance's clients in the event of a data breach or other data security incident. Kivu Consulting, a computer forensic company, has been providing computer forensic investigation services as part of that network and will now also offer extortion response services.

Mullen Coughlin's and Kivu's teams work with ransomware victims to guide them as they respond to malicious attacks, including arranging for payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, analysing and testing decryption keys to ensure they are effectively and safely applied without further compromising the company's network, and preparing documentation for reporting events to appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Brad Gow, senior vice president, Endurance Pro, commented: “Companies faced with ransomware are often ill equipped to obtain Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency under tight deadlines. By providing our policyholders with access to experts to guide them through the payment and decryption processes, we assist them to minimise disruption to their business operations and execute the crisis response in a manner that best protects our insured from future harm.”

Christopher Sparro, CEO of US Insurance added: “We are excited about this new service as we continue to evolve our cyber response capabilities, adding innovative products and services for our clients. Mullen Coughlin and Kivu are two members of a selected team of best-in-class preferred vendors that our breach response team can access to assist our insureds to quickly and professionally respond to breaches.”

“Rapid growth in ransomware attacks is impacting both small and large organisations,” said John Mullen, partner, Mullen Coughlin. “Given the increasing complexity of the attacks, some targets have experienced multiple extortions if they don't effectively manage the initial response. We are extremely pleased to be offering these technical support services as they are a natural complement to the cyber extortion coverage that Endurance provides their clients.”

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News
7 December 2016   Endurance Specialty Holdings (Endurance) has scheduled a special general meeting of its shareholders to seek approval for the acquisition of 100 percent of the outstanding ordinary shares of Endurance by SOMPO Holdings.
News
2 February 2017   Endurance Specialty subsidiary Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings’ 2016 net income came to $14.3 million, down 31 percent on the $20.7 billion it made in 2015.