Corporate Response To Hacker Attacks And Potential Liability

Every day brings more Wall Street Journal coverage of new computer break-ins or an update on earlier break-ins that are worse than previously thought. This rash of heavily publicized hacker attacks on corporate systems has corporate managers questioning how safe their systems are, what they can do to prepare in advance for an attack, how they should respond, and what their liability exposure in the event of an attack. Additional issues include: what can be done to protect consumers, customers, and trade secrets; reduce losses; minimize potential damages; protect shareholder value; and otherwise control the problem as much as possible. Some due diligence steps that should be taken include the following: