LEGAL RISKS OF CYBER ATTACKS IN GERMANY
For many businesses, the risk of falling victim to a cyber attack is growing by the minute. The forms of attack and their targets are diverse, but what they all have in common is their enormous potential to cause harm to businesses. The main financial losses can be caused by production downtime, loss of trade secrets or client data and reputational damage. The potential financial damage can also increase if a company fails to comply with legal requirements that apply in a specific situation, including notification obligations to several authorities or insurance carriers. Otherwise, the affected company may lose insurance cover or may be fined. The following article will give a brief overview of typical legal risks in the case of such an attack and offer advice on how to prepare for a breach. In doing so, it will use the legal situation in Germany as an example.
Preparedness
Ensuring that organisations have sufficient cyber security measures in place and internal data and IT systems are protected is a board-level responsibility. Accordingly, managers must continually ask themselves whether their company is able to meet the regulatory requirements regarding cyber and data security and to keep any damage to a minimum in the event of a cyber attack. In such an event, a rapid reaction is essential. It is important to take all important protective measures swiftly, particularly to save data, secure evidence and pursue claims for damages.
Jan-Mar 2020 Issue
Noerr LLP