Events , Governance & Risk Management , Incident & Breach Response

Investors Assess Corporate IT Security

Potential Financial Harm Behind Increased Cyber Concern
Investors Assess Corporate IT Security

In conducting due diligence, investors spend more time than they have in the past assessing the cyber-risk posed by the company being targeted for acquisition, says Jacob Olcott, vice president for business development at Bitsight Technologies.

Institutional investors such as pension funds also show an increased concern about cyber-risk because incidents can materially harm their financial positions in a company, Olcott says in a video interview with Information Security Media Group.

In the interview, recorded at RSA Conference 2015, Olcott discusses:

  • The Securities and Exchange Commission's evolving requirements on companies to file reports on cyber vulnerabilities and attacks;
  • The types of investors who pay attention to a company's cybersecurity history;
  • The impact on senior management and boards of directors from investors' interests in a companies' cybersecurity stature.

Before joining Bitsight, which developed an IT security rating systems, Olcott managed the cybersecurity consulting practice at Good Harbor Security Risk Management. Earlier, he served as legal adviser to the Senate Commerce Committee, where he acted as Chairman John Rockefeller's lead negotiator on comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. He also served as counsel to the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee.

An undergraduate alum of the University of Texas, Olcott received a law degree from the University of Virginia. Olcott also teaches a class on cybersecurity policy at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

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About the Author

Eric Chabrow

Eric Chabrow

Retired Executive Editor, GovInfoSecurity

Chabrow, who retired at the end of 2017, hosted and produced the semi-weekly podcast ISMG Security Report and oversaw ISMG's GovInfoSecurity and InfoRiskToday. He's a veteran multimedia journalist who has covered information technology, government and business.




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