Ransomware Attacks and Cyber Insurance

A proven and experienced trusted advisor to Boards of Directors, CEOs, CIOs, CISOs and GCs on the subjects of Cybersecurity, Incident Response, Cyber Insurance and Digital Regulatory Compliance. John Reed Stark Consulting LLC manages cybersecurity projects and incident response investigations on behalf of both the government and the private sector. The firm also provides internationally recognized expertise on SEC/FINRA regulatory issues, especially those relating to technology.

Mr. Stark also serves as an expert in engagements pertaining to technological aspects of investigations, prosecutions and enforcement matters conducted by the SEC, FINRA and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and aids in structuring and running corporate compliance projects for broker-dealers, investment advisers and other regulated entities. Mr. Stark also provides neutral expert testimony in the realm of securities regulation on behalf of individuals, entities and government agencies, including in opposition to, and on behalf of, the SEC and other government agencies.

During Mr. Stark’s 11-year tenure as Founder and Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, he led an extensive range of substantial and pioneering SEC enforcement actions. During Mr. Stark's 5-year tenure as Managing Director and Washington, D.C. office head at Stroz, Friedberg, an international digital risk management firm, he gained an unusual breadth of experience in the realm of technology-related law enforcement and regulation; in cyber-incident response and digital risk resilience; and in leading all varieties of technology-related crisis management.

In addition to authoring over one hundred articles about cyber-related topics, including regulation, compliance, risk resilience and incident response, Mr. Stark has been a frequent guest commentator in the national media on cybersecurity, securities regulation and other related areas. Mr. Stark also wrote a column for Compliance Week magazine and his own blog, entitled "Stark on IR," on Cybersecurity Docket (where he is also contributing editor) and a column for Law360.

Mr. Stark also served: 1) For 15 years as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School, where he taught a course on law/regulation/cybercrime and technology; and 2) Since 2017 as Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University Law School (Winter Session in 2017 and 2018, Spring and Fall semesters in 2019, 2020, 2021) teaching a course entitled,"Legal Issues of Cybersecurity and Data Breach Response." Mr. Stark has also taught a range of in-service sessions on cybercrime at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Mr. Stark is also a member of the Duke University School of Law Board of Visitors and the James B. Duke Society.

Joni Mason is a Senior Vice President and National Practice Advisor for USI Insurance Services Executive and Professional Risk Solutions (EPS). Based in New York, New York, Joni is responsible for policyholder advocacy, coverage and legal matters relating to complex management liability claim including cyber.

Joni has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, spending the first part of her career as a defense litigator handling complex commercial and specialty insurance coverage matters. Prior to moving over to the broker side, Joni spent 15 years of her professional career with AIG where she held positions of increasing responsibility on both the claims and underwriting side in Financial Lines.

Joni is a graduate of Muhlenberg College and earned her J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New Jersey.

Scott is dedicated to helping corporate policyholders with insurance coverage issues. By taking on matters that are often difficult, complicated and untested – including two of the first cyber insurance coverage cases in the country – Scott works to design a creative, optimized path to problem-solving that enhances their chances of recovery. Effective, thorough and practical, Scott is valued by clients and colleagues alike for his depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in insurance law, and for finding the right solution to each client’s distinct problem.

Scott regularly represents clients facing insurance coverage issues arising out of ransomware, business email compromise, cybersecurity, data breaches, cyberattacks, privacy and other technology-related claims. He focused on insurance coverage for cybersecurity and privacy risks in 2008, allowing him to join his long-standing interest in technology with a new area of insurance. Since that time, he has litigated some of the few court cases regarding the scope of coverage available under cyber insurance policies, as well as coverage under other insurance policies for losses due to cyberattacks, privacy events, and wire and computer fraud.

Early in his insurance coverage career, Scott served co-lead counsel in a landmark insurance coverage class action trial that spanned four months. It was the first trial of its kind leading to a decision that insurance coverage was available, without aggregate limits, for thousands of asbestos claims. In addition to that example, Scott has represented policyholders in a wide range of disputes. He often handles matters from the inception all the way through appeals. He has argued and briefed insurance coverage disputes in federal Courts of Appeals and state supreme courts.

Scott’s practice often involves declaratory judgment, breach of contract and bad faith insurance coverage actions, insurance-related bankruptcies and adversary actions, federal court receiverships, insurer rehabilitation actions, and commercial arbitrations. He has litigated and advised clients regarding insurance coverage for cyberattacks, data breaches and cyber security issues, business email compromises and CEO fraud, network failures, advertising injury, libel, ransomware and personal injury claims.

Scott also advises clients about the insurance coverage issues related to first-party property, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), directors and officers (D&O), securities, errors and omissions (E&O), crime and fidelity bond, general liability and consumer class action claims. He has effectively navigated complex litigation involving business interruption, extra expense, contingent business interruption and first-party property claims, as well as computer data, hardware and software claims, mass tort liabilities, flood, product liability and asbestos claims.

In addition to his insurance coverage experience inside and outside the courtroom, Scott has significant trial experience on other matters. He served as trial counsel on the issues of whether a complainant established a “domestic industry” and public interest issues in a Section 337 investigation of the Tariff Act of 1930 before the ITC. His trial and appellate experience in court and before arbitrators and administrative law judges have involved federal government contract bid protest, security clearance revocation, prime and subcontractor dispute, discovery, breach of contract and property damage, and negligence.

Moreover, Scott has represented protesters and interveners in bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He also has litigated disputes related to teaming agreements between federal contractors in arbitration and contract claims before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA).

Scott edits the BT Policyholder Protection blog.

Prior to joining the firm, Scott served as in-house counsel to an internet company.

Jennifer A. Coughlin is a Founding Partner of Mullen Coughlin and its Managing Member, guiding the Firm in its commitment to provide effective and efficient data privacy and security legal services and develop, maintain and grow client and partner relationships. She focuses her legal practice solely on providing organizations of all sizes and from every industry sector in first-party data privacy and security incident response and third-party data privacy defense legal services.

Jenn has counseled hundreds of organizations in investigating and responding to data privacy and security incidents compromising protected data and network and system security, such as ransomware attacks, business email compromises (BECs) and other network intrusions, among others. She works closely with various organizational and third-party incident response stakeholders including cyber insurance claims teams; forensic investigation and data mining firms; law enforcement; and business partners. Once the incident is contained and the nature and scope is identified, she relies on her knowledge of state, federal and international laws, as well as industry-specific guidance and regulations to assist the victim organization with identifying and complying with legal obligations stemming from the incident.

While Jenn has represented organizations from virtually every industry group, she has a particular focus on organizations within the healthcare and life sciences; financial services; hospitality and entertainment; retail/e-commerce; and professional services industry groups. She also represents these organizations with follow-up inquiries related to data privacy and security incidents by state, federal and international regulatory agencies, including state attorneys general; state insurance and health departments; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR).

In addition to the first- and third-party legal services she provides, Jenn also assists organizations with pre-incident Advisory Compliance services. She routinely leads tabletop exercises and other training efforts for client’s employees, management and Board members. She also aids in data privacy and information security policy and procedure development, including the development of Incident Response Plans (IRPs).

As the Firm’s Managing Member, Jenn leads the 115 Mullen Coughlin attorneys in the provision of exceptional data privacy and security legal services and the management of client and third-party vendor relationships. She also, in collaboration with the Firm’s equity members and department chairs, oversees the development and implementation of legal, administrative and organizational strategies.

Jenn is a frequent speaker and collaborator at industry, client and legal conferences and events. She is often sought after by organizations to present valuable information regarding incident response and data privacy to their teams and clients. In turn, she has developed strong relationships with cyber insurance carriers and brokers, industry thought leaders, third-party incident response partners and law enforcement.

Prior to founding Mullen Coughlin with John Mullen, Chris DiIenno and Jim Prendergast (deceased) in 2016, Jenn was a Partner at a full-service law firm in their Data Privacy & Cybersecurity practice group.