Erie Insurance, the largest employer in Erie and a Fortune 500 company, is continuing to deal with a significant system-wide network outage. The company, which employs more than 6,000 people and serves over 6 million policyholders across 12 states, has been facing this issue since Saturday, according to sources. This outage is a major challenge for a company of Erie Insurance's size and scope.

In a statement, Erie Insurance confirmed that all available resources are being utilized to restore network access. For policyholders needing to file a claim, the company advises contacting their agent or Erie’s First Notice of Loss team at 800-367-3743. However, customers attempting to access online accounts for billing or policy changes are currently unable to do so.

At this time, Erie Insurance has not disclosed the cause of the outage. It remains unclear whether the issue stems from a technical malfunction or a potential malicious attack. Cybersecurity experts, including Dr. Christopher Mansour, Chair of the Cybersecurity Department at Mercyhurst University, emphasize that identifying the root cause of such outages can take time. Dr. Mansour explained that the scale of the outage and the systems affected will determine how long it takes to resolve the issue.

Dr. Mansour refrained from speculating on whether the outage could be the result of a cyber or ransomware attack. However, he noted that if malicious activity is involved, an incident response team would need to conduct a thorough investigation to assess the method and extent of the breach. This process would involve determining what systems were targeted, whether malicious software or social engineering tactics were used, and the overall impact of the incident, such as whether data was encrypted.

Dr. Mansour highlighted that all companies, regardless of size, are at risk of such incidents, especially in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used by both organizations and bad actors. He described the ongoing challenge as a "race" between companies working to protect their systems and cybercriminals attempting to infiltrate them.

Despite the challenges, Dr. Mansour expressed confidence that Erie Insurance has a robust business continuity plan in place to address scenarios like this. He explained that a company of Erie Insurance’s stature would have backup systems and other protections to mitigate the impact of such disruptions. However, given the company’s extensive network of vendors, agencies, and customers, restoring operations would likely require a phased approach. Critical systems would need to be prioritized, with other dependent systems brought back online gradually.

As Erie Insurance works to resolve the outage, customers are encouraged to remain patient and use the available resources for urgent needs, such as filing claims. The company has not provided a timeline for when full network access will be restored.