A successful ransomware attack can cost a business hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in cash, plus weeks of lost productivity and temporary or permanent loss of records, information, and long-term customer trust. Companies of all sizes – even those with good IT services – have become victims, and these crimes are increasing every single day, leading business leaders to wonder what more can be done to protect their businesses.

The “Protecting Your Business from a Ransomware Attack” Seminar will include the perspectives of cybercrime forensics expert Toni Chrabot, retired FBI Special Agent in Charge and Risk Confidence Group’s CEO, Doug Lowenthal, CEO of TruTechnology, a NetGain Technologies Company, cyber insurance specialist Vicky Zelen, CEO of Zelen Risk Solutions, Trooper Adam Johnson of the Florida Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence and Florida Highway Patrol Special Services Command, and Lynne Rhode, Esq., Special Counsel for Jimerson Birr. The panel will be moderated by the firm’s managing partner Charles B. Jimerson, Esq.

The free seminar will cover topics such as ransomware and information technology, bridging the gap between people, technology and forensics, cyber insurance trends for ransomware coverage, building your legal team for ransomware protection, and trends in ransomware crimes, which will include insight on recent crimes that have garnered attention, such as the Colonial Pipeline attack that saw a $4.4 million ransom payout to regain control of its breached data and pipeline operation. Although some of the ransom payout has been recovered, the highly publicized cyber attack will likely lead to copycat crimes ranging from small to large scale attacks.

Since 2019, ransomware attacks have risen at an unprecedented rate, and it is vital for companies to be prepared to protect themselves and their data. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (“IC3”), an average of 440,000 complaints have come through the IC3 center each year for the past five years. In total, the center received 2,211,396 complaints from 2016-2020 resulting in $13.3 billion in total losses, according to the IC3 “2020 Internet Crime Report.”1 Florida is ranked second in the United States for number of victims, and fourth for total victim losses by state.

Jimerson Birr’s seminar will take place live in the second floor auditorium of the Wells Fargo Center located in downtown Jacksonville, but attendees can choose between a virtual or in-person ticket option when registering. For those attending in-person, the seminar will be followed by lunch with the panelists to allow for further discussions and networking from 1 to 2 p.m..