Cyber Pirates- The New Players in M&A
Of the many lessons 2017 has taught us, one that cannot be overlooked by all businesses and in-house legal teams regardless of size, industry or data possessed, is the need for conscientious planning and continuous efforts to protect company and customer data and the systems that house it. 2016 saw a record increase in data security breaches, and 2017 was worse, both in terms of number and breadth of industries and companies affected. Don’t get caught under-prepared simply because you don’t deal directly with consumers. The hacks and attacks of 2017 prove that cyber pirates are interested in all phases of your business, including to B2B systems, the internet of things, cloud-based data, and commercial transactional information. Yes- that includes M&A deals and commercial transactions, even between privately held enterprises. Cyber security system review and data breach history should be part of your due diligence, contract drafting and insurance protection plans for all your M&A and commercial transactions in 2018.
