Risk management concerns are rife throughout a merger or acquisition process, but it is important never to neglect cyber security issues during this time. High profile CIO and CISO cyber security attacks in the past year alone have kept this issue relevant on the negotiating table. West Monroe Partners and Mergemarketreleased survey data revealing that 77% of acquirers value cyber security at M&A targets more than they did two years ago.
Cyber Security by the Numbers
Further findings of this research demonstrated that 40% of respondents faced cyber security issues after a deal was closed. To make matters worse, 32% of those surveyed reported that in the face of a cyber security threat, they lack the expertise to address related issues.
Most commonly reported were compliance or due diligence issues (noted by 70% of respondents), with a lack of qualified cyber security employees as another major problem (reported by 32% of those surveyed).
How Cyber Security Issues Impact Mergers and Acquisitions
It is undeniable that cyber security knowledge and the skills to prevent, detect, and address breaches are highly valuable — and woefully rare. When laying the groundwork for an acquisition or merger, these issues and the capacity of a company to address them are sure to be evaluated.
The merger process is not the time to first audit or examine a business’s cyber security blind spots. A deficient cyber security team may wind up being a deal breaker.
To stay current and protected, some companies conduct third-party risk assessments. This has long been standard practice in the business world, but may be unfamiliar to even the most innovative tech company.
It is now the responsibility of a CIO or CISO to describe their compliance standards and assessment process. If a company takes or processes payments, PCI compliance is absolutely essential. What’s more, mergers can be held up for months due to cyber security concerns that are being addressed — but not expressed clearly.
Training and evaluating a cyber security team before a merger or acquisition process begins is the surest way to guarantee that cyber security issues do not derail the negotiation process.
As businesses seek to reduce their in-house IT costs, IT managers are increasingly looking to downsize their on-site data centers. With their high costs and security liabilities, servers and related devices are more likely to move to colocation data centers as a cost-cutting measure for global enterprises. Defined as outsourcing the location of servers, colocation offers many benefits for companies both small and large.
Security executives know cyber attacks can happen anywhere and at any time, threatening their companies’ data and putting customer and corporate information at risk for exposure. With the high risk of data breaches, security heads should know where their greatest vulnerabilities lie — whether through outside hackers or malicious insiders — and protect their data accordingly.
While Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has exploded in popularity over the years for its low-cost communications and ease of use, VoIP users still have many challenges ahead. These include guarding against security risks and optimizing their connection speeds to get the best call quality possible, which is why many users are turning to virtual private networks (VPNs).
Business owners and managers know that it only takes one emergency to cause havoc in their day-to-day operations. But what if these changes last for days or even months, and cause the organization to come to a halt? With these risks in mind, managers must be prepared for disruptions that will affect business functions, such as security breaches and infrastructure updates.
While the popularity of Voice over IP (VoIP) has exploded since the advent of the Internet, the technology does not come without its challenges. Implementing VoIP or upgrading current voice and data communications systems does not have to be a hassle if potential roadblocks are recognized before they escalate.
Many companies agree in principle with the idea of a bring your own device (BYOD) policy, where employees utilize the same device for both business and personal use. There is much to like about the idea; if employees are using their own devices it saves the company from having to invest in costly hardware, and BYOD is more likely to result in employees knowing how to use their devices effectively, which can boost productivity and workplace efficiency.