Merck cyberattack’s US$1.3bil question: Was it an act of war?

Given how scary the future looks, the Merck case is, in some ways, an effort by insurers to turn back the clock. The industry is working to write its policy exclusions in such a way as to avoid any confusion over whether a digital attack is covered or not. — Reuters

By the time Deb Dellapena arrived for work at Merck & Co’s 90-acre campus north of Philadelphia, there was a handwritten sign on the door: The computers are down.

It was worse than it seemed. Some employees who were already at their desks at Merck offices across the US were greeted by an even more unsettling message when they turned on their PCs. A pink font glowed with a warning: "Ooops, your important files are encrypted. ... We guarantee that you can recover all your files safely and easily. All you need to do is submit the payment ...” The cost was US$300 (RM1,251) in Bitcoin per computer.