Tag archives: Cybercrime

Cybercrime held to be a social engineering loss not computer fraud under policy

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on August 19, 2022 Posted in Insurance

Cybercrime held to be a social engineering loss not computer fraud under policy The insured was defrauded when a bad actor tricked the company CEO into wiring nearly $600 000 into the bad actor’s bank account. It was held that the loss was covered under the social-engineering-fraud cover with a limit of $100 000 and not the … Continue reading

Holder of trust money is liable for paying incorrect party

By Patrick Bracher (ZA) on October 24, 2019 Posted in General

A firm of attorneys involved in a property transaction paid R1 744 599.45 into the bank account of a hacker in response to emailed instructions. It was held that the attorneys were liable to the true client to pay this amount for failing to perform their mandate in regard to the trust money with sufficient care and … Continue reading

Comment on the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill extended to 10 August 2017

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on July 31, 2017 Posted in General

A revised draft of the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill was tabled in Parliament in February 2017. See our previous post on the major changes to the original draft published for public comment in August 2015. At the beginning of July 2017, the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services called for public comments on the … Continue reading

Petya or NotPetya – under POPI you must report

By Kerri Gevers (SG) and Rakhee Bhikha on July 3, 2017 Posted in General

Barely recovering from the WannaCry ransomware attack, many across the globe now have to deal with the latest ransomware attack, NotPetya. Originally thought of to be the Petya ransomware for making money, security analysts quickly realised that the current cyber-attack was not designed to make money. It appears that NotPetya has actually just been designed … Continue reading

Cover for cyber breaches under general liability policies

By Elsa Jordaan on April 13, 2016 Posted in Insurance

If insurers don’t want to cover cyber liability under a general liability policy they’d better check their wordings and introduce exclusions if necessary. Whether or not cyber breaches are covered under the “personal and advertising injury” section of commercial general liability policies depends on the circumstances of each case. I discuss two cases which illustrate … Continue reading

Cyber threats, exposures and insurance

By Elsa Jordaan on April 1, 2016 Posted in Insurance

One of the main concerns for South African businesses is dealing with cyber threats. While loss or harm caused by cyber incidents is not entirely new, these incidents have become more common in recent years due to the rapid advances in technology and the changes in many business models. By way of an example, machines … Continue reading

Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill introduces Cyberlaundering – with far reaching implications

By Daniel Leslie (CA) on November 28, 2015 Posted in General

Commendably, South Africa’s new Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill proposes that we take a bold step ahead of contemporary laws across Africa and beyond. Pertinently, clause 19(1) of the Bill proscribes the novel concept of cyberlaundering. Cyberlaundering is the use of a computer to perform or assist an unlawful financial transaction or a relationship involving property … Continue reading

New structures to fight cybercrime

By Rohan Isaacs (ZA) and Tatum Govender (ZA) on October 28, 2015 Posted in General

Cybercrime happens at the speed of broadband with criminals able to easily move the tools of their activities from one location to another. Successfully combatting cybercrime therefore requires real time detection and investigation, often by different agencies in different countries. Cybercrime has exploded internationally in the past several years in tandem with the surge of … Continue reading

Can you be traced through your internet activity?

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on October 26, 2015 Posted in General

Each device which accesses the internet is allocated a unique number (Internet Protocol or IP address) by its internet service provider (ISP). A record is created each time this IP address accesses a webpage, including the date, time and URL (website address) accessed. These records are stored by the ISP. ISPs are prohibited from providing … Continue reading

Taking cybercrime seriously: new offences in the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill

By Kerri Gevers (SG) on October 13, 2015 Posted in General

The Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill expands on the original sections of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2002 (ECTA). The creation of 20 new cybercrime offences illustrates the extent to which technology is being used for unlawful purposes and the need to protect yourself in your activities online. Existing cyber crimes There are currently only … Continue reading

Financial institutions will also be obliged to inform clients of cybercrime trends

By Edward Odendaal (AU) on September 17, 2015 Posted in General

The draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill has been published for public comment. The draft bill in its current form imposes obligations on “electronic communications service providers” to inform its clients of cybercrime trends and to establish procedures to report such crimes. The definition of an “electronic communications service provider” includes not only mobile networks, internet … Continue reading