Merck entitled to $1.4B in cyberattack case after appeals court rejects insurers’ ‘warlike action’ claim

Angus Liu reports:

Merck may finally be entitled to a hefty insurance payout from the high-profile NotPetya cyberattack—if an appeals court ruling stands.

A New Jersey appellate court on Monday ruled that a group of insurers can’t use war as an argument to deny Merck coverage from the notorious cyberattack that afflicted the company and others back in 2017.

Upholding a prior ruling, the appeals court said in an opinion (PDF) that the “hostile/warlike action” exclusion clause shouldn’t be applied to a cyberattack on a non-military company—even if it originated from a government or sovereign power. In this case, the hack was tied to Russia as part of its aggression against Ukraine, according to U.S. officials.