Aon | Professional Services Practice
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Cyber / Risk Management /Insurance Program Design
Tom Ricketts is the Professional Services Practice’s Cyber Practice Leader. He is involved in the cyber risk management discussions and cyber insurance placement of more than 150 law firms.With the experience gained by a transatlantic insurance broking career, Tom provides risk management and insurance advice. Among his innovations is the first open-market Technology Errors & Omissions program.
He was recognized by Risk & Insurance Magazine as a Power Broker for his work in the Telecommunications sector (2006) and in the Construction sector (2011).
He is a contributing author to the ABA Cybersecurity Handbook 3rd edition (2022) and to the Aon / Crawford publication "A Guide to Successfully Managing Cyber Claims" (2021) and regularly presents at legal sector conferences.
Cyber October 2024 – Securing Our World
October 2024 - October’s Cyber Awareness Month is a time to consider the cyber landscape and how professional service firms can build resilience, plan and practice responses to attacks and make their contribution to securing our world.
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Table Stakes: Planning a Tabletop Simulation
July 2024 - Tom Ricketts, Cyber Practice Leader of the Professional Services Practice at Aon, discusses how indispensable tabletop simulations are in allowing professional service firms to better prepare and respond to cyber-attacks.
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Pushing the Limits – How Much Cyber Insurance Do Professional Service Firms Need?
May 2024 - The only thing worse than being hit by a cyber-attack is finding that your cyber program limits are insufficient to pay the full amount of the loss. Cyber insurance is no longer cheap and nobody wants to pay for insurance limits...
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Navigating Cybersecurity Risk in the New SEC Regime
February 2024 - In recent years, companies have experienced a continued escalation in the risk and impact of cyber events. As a result, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recognized in its recent rulemaking the importance...
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SEC’s Enforcement Action Further Underscores Cyber Risks
November 2023 - In July 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new cyber-related disclosure rules, and the Financial Services Group at Aon discussed the increasing cybersecurity risks that companies and their directors...
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Cyber October 2023 – Cyber Risk and Professional Service Firms
October 2023 - Following a tradition started in 2004, when the federal government of the U.S. designated October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Professional Service Practice of Aon is highlighting...
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How It started / How It’s going: Professional Service Firm Cyber Risk in 2023
October 2023 - In January I boldly made some predictions on the anticipated major cyber security challenges for professional service firms in 2023. Cyber October seemed like the ideal opportunity to review whether I was badly wrong or depressingly...
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Aon Highlights “Scattered Spider”
October 2023 - A ransomware group most commonly referred to as “Scattered Spider” has been highlighted in the cyber security media as a troublesome threat actor.
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When is a Cyber Crime not a “Cyber-Crime”? Social Engineering Fraud (SEF) and Business Email Compromise (BEC)
August 2023 - Law firms have long been among the more frequent and lucrative targets for social engineering fraud. In 2013 a fraudster was indicted for stealing over $70 million from US and Canadian law firms, using variations on the “debt...
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Aon’s 2023 Cyber Resilience Report Released in August
August 2023 - Aon’s 2023 Cyber Resilience Report is a guide that company leaders can use to help benchmark their organization’s risk maturity against peer companies and build their cyber resilience.
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AI Fireside Chat and Panel Discussion - Aon Webinar
June 2023 - On May 31, 2023, Aon hosted a live webinar featuring United States Congressman Bill Foster, Physics PhD and immediate past chair of the House Financial Services Committee Task Force on AI. The webinar focused on use cases for...
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Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Prompts Cyber Fraud
March 2023 - The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank and the banking crisis that has ensued is causing considerable fear, uncertainty and doubt throughout the technology, finance and related sectors. The impact that this has on cyber risk...
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Ransomware Payment Prohibitions – Do They Work, and Will More States Adopt Them?
March 2023 - The practicality and implications of a broad ransomware payment prohibition has been much discussed by politicians at the state and federal level over the past few years.
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Top Cyber Challenges for Professional Service Firms in 2023
February 2023 - Tom Ricketts, Professional Services Practice’s Cyber Leader, discusses seven cyber challenges that professional service firms will face in 2023 on Aon North American Insights.
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Professional Indemnity and Silent Cyber
January 2023 - An important issue has emerged in the London Market relating to the treatment of cyber risk within Professional Indemnity (E&O policy) and other non-cyber policies.
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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month – Professional Services Firms and Cyber Risk
October 2022 - Since 2004 the President and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In support of this tradition, the Professional Services Practice at Aon is highlighting the cyber risk faced by professional...
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Law Firms and Cyber Interruption – How Do You Measure and Prove a Loss of Revenue?
September 2022 - As discussed in the Professional Services Practice’s “Looking Ahead: Top Risks Facing Professional Service Firms in 2022 and Beyond” Cyber-attack/data breach was the top rated risk facing firms in 2022. Business interruption...
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How Many Records Do We Have? Professional Service Firms and PII / PHI Records
June 2022 - Insurers are increasingly asking for Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Personal Health Information (PHI) record counts as part of the underwriting process and it is important for insureds to have made a good faith...
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To Pay or Not To Pay – Professional Service Firms and Ransomware
January 2022 - As one of the most targeted industry sectors, professional service firms must carefully consider the implications of responding to ransomware demands.
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“Lincoln’s Ghost & Cyber Security” – Aon Cyber Solutions Discusses the False Claims Act
November 2021 - In its latest white paper, Aon Cyber Solutions explores “how doing business with the U.S. government can cost millions under the False Claims Act,” and offers proactive steps that professional services firms can take to...
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Aon’s ‘Ransomware Protect’ and ‘Ransomware Readiness’ Offerings for Professional Service Firms
June 2021 - The ransomware epidemic is growing exponentially and is assuming geopolitical importance. The research company Cybersecurity Ventures predicts the global cost of cybercrime will reach $6 trillion in 2021.
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In deep water: phishing risks for professional service firms
May 2021 - Ransomware is a leading risk for professional service firms in 2021 – Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group statistics show that ransomware attacks have increased 486% in two years. A recent report from Coveware, a leading extortion negotiator,...
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Aon Cyber Solutions Client Alert - The Ransomware Epidemic
November 2020 - After encountering this year’s highest ransomware demand of USD 80 million, Aon’s experts are acutely aware of the rapidly rising threat of ransomware attacks and the resultant risks faced by professional service firms....
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Why are social engineering attacks targeting law firms?
October 2020 - In March of 2010, a Houston-based lawyer fell victim to a scam asking the individual to represent a Hong Kong corporation to pursue debtors in the US that owed the company over USD 4 million. Engagement letters were signed,...
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Aon Cyber Solutions Webinar Recording – Preventing Ransomware Attacks: What You Need to Know
October 2020 - Ransomware has emerged as the major cyber threat affecting professional service firms in 2020. As we approach Q4, several studies have been published by insurers and cybersecurity specialists that have highlighted the dramatic...
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Ransomware: REvil & the Increased Targeting of Law Firms
September 2020 - REvil is a known hacking group that has been active for some time and has been named in several ransomware attacks on a variety of targets including financial institutions, recently hitting a major travel exchange entity...
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How is a reliance on outsourced vendors exposing law firms (and other professional service firms)?
April 2020 - In February 2020, a major vendor to the legal profession suffered a ransomware attack that forced it to take its legal services platform offline for over two weeks. In addition to the inconvenience of having to reschedule matters,...
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Will cyber continue to be a major risk for professional service firms?
December 2019 - Access to sensitive data and commitments to client confidentiality put professional service firms at particular risk from cyber-related exposures. While safety measures and risk management strategies can eliminate a substantial...
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Intellectual property: Changing risks for professional service firms in a digital age
December 2019 - In the past, professional service firms faced limited intellectual property risk. This exposure primarily centered around the creation and dissemination of publications as well as and branding and advertising activity. Today,...
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