Cyber-Attacks on Aviation Industry Rising; Traditional Insurance Policies Might Not Provide Coverage: Christopher Barth Q&A

In this latest installment of the Locke Lord Q&A Series, Partner Christopher Barth discusses what has prompted an uptick in cyber-attacks on airports and airlines operations, the areas of risk in the aviation industry, why cyber-attacks do not fall within traditional aviation insurance policies and the specific cyber provisions in cyber risk insurance coverage.

According to Barth, hackers likely view the aviation industry as a high-profile target, given the high profile nature of the industry, involvement of aircraft which have the potential to cause significant harm and the heavy reliance on computer systems in all aspects of aviation operations providing many access points to those engaging in such conduct. Furthermore, he notes that cyber-attacks by their nature are intentional, not accidental, in nature and that such attacks likely do not meet the definition of an “occurrence” under more “traditional” insurance policy wordings.

The complete Q&A with Barth is available here.