Boards and mergers and acquisitions

Cyber risk considerations for mergers and acquisitions are increasingly important. In fact, investing in a company with low cyber maturity might result in massive financial losses and incorrect valuations, and eventually lead to reputational damage in the event of a cyberattack or data breach.

At various stages of a merger and acquisition (M&A), various risks exist—from information leakage prior to public disclosure, from the risk of insider threats, from disgruntled employees stealing valuable intellectual property fearing changes and dismissal, from the unadjusted risk as two organizations merge, potentially resulting in contagion between the two entities or conflicting approaches being exploited. The timing of M&A transactions is always a delicate balance between speed and risk—the need to consummate the transaction quickly before values rise and to exploit new business opportunities (to unlock value), and the danger...