Cybersecurity And M&A – Part Three: Cyber Insurance

In the second installment of this series we offered a brief review of cybersecurity provisions and considerations in M&A transaction agreements, and in the first installment of this series we offered a brief review of cybersecurity issues that can arise in the course of M&A transactions and discussed the importance of cybersecurity due diligence by the buyer. This third installment will focus on cyber-insurance and some specific considerations relating to cyber insurance that targets and acquirers should make in the context of M&A transactions.

As data breach incidents continue to rise and legislative regimes provide more and more stringent regulation of data breaches, including the proliferation of mandatory breach notification provisions, the expense associated with data breaches also rises. Estimated costs of dealing with a data breach, even to resolve a potential attack, or an attempted breach, have been as high as $5.3 million.¹ Costs can be incurred as a