Major IT outages – how we can help

Microsoft reported further IT problems yesterday, 30 July – said to have been caused by a denial of service attack (a form of cyber attack) compounded by response errors. Following the recent CrowdStrike incident, the loss of Microsoft services to businesses will have amplified the focus being placed by businesses on their incident response and business continuity plans. The loss of critical services will have impacted businesses in a multitude of different ways but the potential loss of revenue weeks after a previous major incident will have been particularly unwelcome. 

Planning for and responding to incidents involving complex IT infrastructure – often cloud based – is something that businesses should be particularly focused on in light of recent events. Taylor Wessing is a global leader in all facets of IT law, providing both advisory, risk mitigation and litigation services, and is adept at handling incidents involving IT infrastructure problems and sophisticated cyber attacks. We have an extensive understanding of the digital landscape, including cloud computing environments and multi-cloud operations and are superbly placed to assist pro-actively and re-actively in relation to IT projects and incidents.

Our team has been engaged since the outset of these events, advising entities in retail, aviation, and the financial sectors on potential claims for financial compensation due to this significant cyber event. Our bespoke approach, SOAR, is designed to identify the appropriate redress for corporates that have been affected. Businesses with the benefit of insurance are still likely to need assistance in relation to pursuing recoveries in circumstances where coverage is disputed and the team has an excellent track record in similar circumstances. Our connections with global litigation funders mean we can support businesses impacted, potentially at no cost.

Aside from pursuing claims, our expert knowledge of IT incidents ideally positions us to defend businesses facing claims as a result of the incident – either as a result of a failure to perform contractual obligations or otherwise. Time is of the essence when it comes to responding to claims for compensation or termination and often damaged business relationships can be rescued, rather than descending into costly and time consuming litigation.

For those businesses that want assistance with planning for the next IT event, Taylor Wessing's team of cyber response specialists are ready to help in relation to making a business “breach ready”. We are able to review policies and response procedures in order to address existing policies and help redraft them; to undertake breach simulation exercises to test response plans; to give advice as to managing stakeholders in the event of a breach. Finally, our links to the cyber industry also allow us to make introductions to relevant service providers including IT security, specialist crisis relations teams and insurance brokers. 

If you wish to explore any of the services Taylor Wessing offers in the IT sphere, we are ready to help. Please get in touch.