Author Archives: Emily Holbrook

About Emily Holbrook

Emily Holbrook is a former editor of the Risk Management Monitor and Risk Management magazine. You can read more of her writing at EmilyHolbrook.com.
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Some Banks Held Liable for Cyberattacks Against Small Business Accounts

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When a hacker infiltrates your personal checking account to pilfer money, your bank, in most cases, will assume liability and resolve the matter of missing money. When a business account is hacked, however, the business owner is held liable. The reasoning? Banks feel that owners should have proper security measures in place to protect their assets. Basically, as a business owner, it’s your responsibility, not the bank’s.

But that sentiment is slowly swaying in favor of the businesses. Two recent court rulings have found banks to be liable for funds stolen by hackers, many of whom have targeted small businesses for their unsophisticated, or complete lack of, cybersecurity measures.

The Boston-based First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that Ocean Bank in Maine lacked reasonable safeguards against hackers who siphoned nearly $600,000 from an account held by Patco Construction Company Inc., a Maine contractor and builder.

Separately, a federal district judge in Detroit last year ruled that a bank owned by Dallas-based Comerica Inc. was on the hook for $561,399 in funds stolen from accounts held by Experi-Metal Inc., a custom metals shop in Sterling Heights, Mich. Experi-Metal was the victim of a phishing scheme that lured an employee into providing account access information, according to court documents.

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These rulings come at a time when small businesses need them most. The June 2012 Symantec Intelligence Report shows 36% of all targeted attacks (58 per day) during the last six months were directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees. “There appears to be a direct correlation between the rise in attacks against smaller businesses and a drop in attacks against larger ones.

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It almost seems attackers are diverting their resources directly from the one group to the other,” said Paul Wood, cyber security intelligence manager, Symantec.

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Will banks’ liability for cyber attacks spread from these few, small business cases mentioned here? It seems like a lofty and unrealistic expectation. But hey, I doubt anyone ever thought legal action would be taken against banks for not protecting the assets of their business clients. The tables may be turning.

Insurance Claims from Colorado Wildfires at $450 Million and Growing

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The residents of Colorado have had a rough 2012. In April it was announced that 98% of the state was facing drought conditions, which raised crop prices and, even worse, set the stage for what would become one of the worst wildfires in Colorado history.

The High Park Fire in Larimer County and the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs have caused insured damage of $450 million with expectations that the number will grow significantly since the claims process has just begun. This figure is double the $224 million logged during the Fourmile fire west of Boulder in 2010, which was considered the state’s most costly. As of July 3rd, all but two Colorado counties had been deemed disaster areas.

Here is a video of the situation just two weeks ago:

Surprisingly, 2012 (so far) is not the worst wildfire year we’ve seen. The Insurance Information Institute states:

There have been 28,912 wildfires that burned 2.3 million acres in 2012, as of July 4, according to the National Interagency Fire Service. This compares with 37,326 wildfires that burned 4.9 million acres during the same period in 2011, and 30,354 wildfires that burned 1.5 million acres during the same period in 2010.

The same cannot be said for the nation’s drought — it is the worst in half a century. The Washington Post has uploaded close to 20 sad and startling photos of the drought of 2012. Take a look. It’s worth your time.

Companies Release Climate Change Combat Guide

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We’ve heard over and over again about how companies are not adequately preparing for the changing climate, but rarely do we see reports praising companies for being proactive in the face of increasingly severe weather events and rising temperatures.

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But that did happen recently with the issuance of a step-by-step tool for businesses to prepare for such risks. For the first time, leading companies from the food and beverage, insurance, investment, technology and energy industries are taking action with certain tools, one being Business ADAPT. The guide cites several recent weather events that have caused economic and social harm, including the 2010 heat wave in Russia, which triggered severe wildfires and shaved off 1% of the country’s GDP, and the 2011 Texas drought, which caused a loss of .

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6 billion within the agricultural sector.

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The tool is part of the Value Chain Climate Resilience Guide and states that companies should follow the below points:

  • Analyze the issues — Have you started thinking about the resilience of your business in the face of climate-related impacts?
  • Develop an internal strategy — Have you mobilized the right team to address climate resilience?
  • Assess risks and opportunities — Have you taken steps to assess the areas where opportunities to build climate resilience or invest in emerging market opportunities exist in your business value chain?
  • Prioritize actions — Have you taken steps to identify and assess measures to build climate resilience in your value chain?
  • Tackle actions, and evaluate progress — How will you successfully implement actions to build climate resilience in your value chain, and evaluate and monitor the effect of your actions over time?

Companies who fail to take preventative steps to address climate threats could find themselves facing extreme and unmanageable risks. As James E. Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy put it, “If we’re not ready, we’re in trouble.”

We’re Unethical and We Know It

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The financial industry has never been known for its saint-like ways or its steely moral compass, especially in the wake of this most recent financial crisis. But a new survey reveals startling data not only about the level of unethical behavior within the industry, but also about individuals’ unwillingness to do anything about it.

The study, “Wall Street, Fleet Street and Main Street: Corporate Integrity at a Crossroads,” by Labaton Sucharow LLP, found the following:

  • 24% of respondents reported a belief that financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct in order to be successful
  • 26% of respondents indicated that they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace
  • 39% of respondents reported that their competitors are likely to have engaged in illegal or unethical activity in order to be successful
  • 30% of respondents reported their compensation or bonus plan created pressure to compromise ethical standards or violate the law, while 23% of respondents reported other pressures that may lead to unethical or illegal conduct
  • 30% of respondents feel that the SEC/SFO effectively deters, investigates and prosecutes misconduct—despite the new leadership, record enforcement actions and new reforms; 29% of respondents feel the same way about FINRA/FSA
  • And most troubling, 16% of respondents reported that they would commit a crime—insider trading—if they could get away with it

“It is shocking that four years after the global economic crisis began there continues to be a fundamental lack of integrity in the financial services industry,” said Chris Keller, partner and head of case development at Labaton Sucharow.

But this study does more than point out moral deficiencies plaguing the industry; it highlights the importance of the SEC Whistleblower Program, which is authorized to provide monetary rewards to those who come forward with “high quality, original information that leads to a Commission enforcement action in which over $1,000,000 in sanctions is ordered.” Eligible whistleblowers usually receive between 10 and 30% of the money collected.

The survey, however, found that only 44% of respondents were aware of this program.

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In addition, one in five of the professionals surveyed weren’t sure of, or had serious doubts about, how their employers would handle a report of wrongdoing.

Based on this report, it seems we have a long way to go in terms of education, integrity and confidence in employers.

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