Law360: COVID Inflamed Damaging Year For Data Breach Victims

O’Melveny counsel John Dermody discussed with Law360 the deluge of cyber incidents that exacerbated clients’ operational challenges in what has now been a full year of the pandemic. 

The existence of more vulnerable, targetable network entry points grew with employees distributed across locations and security networks, but Dermody cautioned the “more significant” factor in the recent spike in cyberattacks “has been the evolution of ransomware actors and the maturation of illicit markets to support that activity.”

Despite more brazen deployment of ransomware and greedier criminals with ever growing grifts, attorneys like Dermody see one “silver lining,” noted the publication. With virtually every company confronted with cyber dilemmas of varying magnitude, communication between clients and outside legal counsel has improved considerably. “We have been able to work with clients across the country and internationally, and the flexibility to hop on a teleconference at any hour of the day has allowed us to quickly meet those needs,” Dermody said. “Even if we happen to be wearing slippers while doing so.”

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