In the News: Bert Bender Explores Cyber Warfare Communications Disconnect in Legal Intelligencer

Constangy Cyber Team partner Bert Bender authored an article for Law.com’s The Legal Intelligencer reflecting on how the Iran conflict serves as a reminder of the significant role cybercrime and cyberterrorism play in today’s warfare – not to mention during peacetime.

“Just ask medical device giant Stryker as it mitigates effects of a disruptive cyberattack from the Iranian-backed group Handala (and accompanying litigation),” Bert said offering an example. “We cannot wish this threat away or manifest cybersecurity; it requires decisive action.”

As part of this “decisive action,” Bert emphasized the importance of a two-way flow of information between government agencies and the private sector, which suffers a majority of these attacks. However, this flow of information is often disrupted by the risk private businesses face of government scrutiny and enforcement when voluntarily disclosing cybersecurity incidents. “When ‘strong encouragement’ for reporting and compliance was phased out in favor of enforcement over several years, cybercrime victims began to see government agencies' promises of cooperation as illusory,” Bert explained.

To address this disconnect, Bert offered some potential solutions, such as extending the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA) beyond its September 30 sunset, along with changes at the state level to enact safe harbors, affirmative defenses and agreements for limiting liability in exchange for disclosure.

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Bert Bender is a member of the Constangy Cyber Team and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As part of the firm’s incident response team, he assists organizations in responding to data privacy and security incidents, including ransomware attacks, business email compromises, social engineering schemes, and fraudulent wire transfers. Bert coordinates digital forensics investigations, regulatory responses, ransom negotiations, consumer notifications, and remediation efforts, helping clients mitigate operational disruption and third-party liability.