What distinguishes the recent breach at Sony Pictures from the earlier breach and most significant breaches which have been reported is the theft of intellectual property from Sony Pictures. How does the theft of essential pieces of business affect not only shareholder equity, but potentially a company’s viability? How can companies prevent or mitigate potential exposure, particularly in light of the ever increasing prominence and sophistication of the “hack-tivist”? What is the duty of today’s directors and officers to protect against such losses and mitigate exposure if and when data breaches occur? How do today’s directors and officers satisfy their fiduciary obligations by keeping up with the ever changing and evolving “cyber-criminal”?
This article by Kenneth M. Labbate and Oliver E. Twaddell of Mound Cotton Wollan, Greengrass: explores what directors and officers should be doing now to protect the interests of corporate shareholders and minimize their own exposure to liability.