Cybersecurity, Corporate Team to Help Companies Assess Cyber Risk in M&A Transactions

Cybersecurity partner Brian Finch told Law360 the firm will work with the service’s clients to negotiate deal terms that address cyber risks uncovered by FireEye’s assessments. For instance, deal terms resulting from the risk assessments may require that the merger target take remedial action or fulfill obligations to shift the risk away from the buyer. Risk assessments are said to take one week and result in a report that details risk ratings, maturity scores for the companies involved in the deal and recommendations for mitigating the risks.

“Cybercriminals and spies are endlessly inventive,” Finch said. He added that failing to look for cyber risks during M&A due diligence is like “buying a piece of land once used as a manufacturing site without doing an environmental assessment. Lord knows what risks lie under the surface, and the failure to check it out could easily lead to all sorts of problems, ranging from significant remediation costs to potential shareholder suits for failing to do your homework."

Finch and corporate partner Matthew Swartz are leading the Pillsbury team behind the service’s launch.