UKELG Evening Talk: how to respond to a cyber-attack crisis

Tuesday 27 February 2018 London, England

Contact the IBA Divisions team at divisions@int-bar.org for any questions.

A major cyber-attack, whether it involves a substantial data breach, ransomware or the takeover of a business’s IT infrastructure, is the permanent nightmare of all businesses – for the oil and gas and wider energy sector, the threat is even more acute when you consider the potential for malicious third parties to take control of highly volatile physical infrastructure (platforms, pipelines, refineries) or to steal priceless intellectual property. The pending arrival of GDPR with its new obligations regarding personal data and its highly onerous fining regime together with the spectre of civil litigation for data protection breaches make the consequences of a cyber-attack all the more severe.

A major cyber-attack tests the crisis response for any business. It’s crucial to respond correctly, to close down the issue, minimise the liability risk and address the PR concerns.

At CMS we have unparalleled experience in dealing with major cyber-attacks and major corporate crises and reputational issues generally. In this session, CMS Partner, Dan Tench, and Senior Associate, Tamsin Blow consider how a business should respond to a cyber-attack:

• The initial steps, setting up the crisis team, communications, establishing legal privilege, crisis working practices, prioritising issues
• Identifying risks – the regulatory risks, the litigation risks, the reputational risks
• The litigation options against the culprits or to restrain the use of stolen information
• Regulatory engagements – when are notifications necessary, how should this be done?
• Linking up with the communications response – the legal input and reputation management
• Other crisis issues: the employment position; criminal investigations; political issues
• Post crisis remediation: long tail litigation; how to you get back to normal?

CMS is now the world’s sixth largest law firm by head count, with 72 offices across 41 jurisdictions. One of the firm’s key sectors is oil and gas and energy, where CMS is widely regarded as one of the leading international law firms – ranked as ‘Tier 1’ by both Chambers and Legal 500. Following our 2017 merger with Olswang, the firm now also offers one of the UK’s leading technology teams, advising clients on a whole range of IT and related issues including cyber security.

How to register

There is no charge to attend this seminar. Please click here to register your attendance (please note that places are limited). Alternately, please contact Jessica Rattle at jessica.rattle@int-bar.org or +44 (0)20 7842 0090 by Monday 26 February 2018 in order to list your name as a participant for the evening. This list of attendees will be distributed at the event.