An Agenda Education webcast poll this week asked attendees whether their respective boards were equipped with the right amount of cybersecurity competence, and almost 40% said, “Not yet, but almost there.” Another 20% answered no. Only about 31% responded yes, and almost 10% of those polled were unsure. Forthcoming SEC rules on cybersecurity will require…
Category: cybersecurity
Agenda – ISS Adds Cyber Risk to Company Scores
Business and cybersecurity experts recently told the World Economic Forum that there is a high likelihood of a destabilizing and “catastrophic” cyberattack linked to geopolitical instability within the next two years. And the largest segment (34%) of respondents to a recent Allianz survey of more than 2,000 company representatives said cyber risk was the number…
There Is No “C” In “ESG”: An Illustration of ESG’s Biggest Risk
Doug Chia of Soundboard Governance raises concerns that ESG is becoming such a catch-all that it may lose any meaning. One could argue that the term “ESG” is best used as shorthand for anything not typically measured with traditional financial metrics, or “externalities” in general, and pedantic arguments over specific words and letters (like this blog post!) miss the point. But the possibilities for what is an ESG issue cannot be endless. What is not ESG? An undisciplined approach to what constitutes ESG will render it meaningless to those who need to understand its importance (e.g., Warren Buffett),and an absence of boundaries makes ESG ripe for manipulation, co-option, and ridicule by those with ulterior motives (e.g., the Free Enterprise Project). Continuing down this path will undermine the concept of ESG as a critical component of business and investment decisions. ESG’s own biggest risk may be that it can be whatever you want or need it to be.
SEC’s New Rules for Fund Managers on Cybersecurity Disclosures
The SEC is proposing new rules on cybersecurity disclosures for fund managers. The Commission also is proposing a new rule and form under the Advisers Act to require advisers to report significant cybersecurity incidents affecting the adviser, or its fund or private fund clients, to the Commission. With respect to disclosure, the Commission is proposing…
Ranking Digital Rights
The RDR Index evaluated 26 of the world’s most powerful digital platforms and telecommunications companies on their disclosed policies and practices affecting people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Here’s the ranking sorted by governance.
PWC on Corporate Boards: Cyber Threats, #Metoo, Diversity, and What Shareholders Want
PWC on Corporate Boards: Cyber Threats, #Metoo, Diversity, and What Shareholders Want PWC’s annual director survey is one of our most trusted resources on corporate governance from the perspective of the boardroom, and this year’s edition has some significant findings on issues like diversity, CEO pay, climate change, cybersecurity, and the gap between what board members…
Facebook Turns Toxic for Some ESG Funds – Bloomberg
Just how toxic is the data-privacy scandal for Facebook Inc.?So toxic that some investment funds now are lumping in the social network with big polluters and other corporations they consider ethically challenged.As Facebook has struggled to contain the damage from Cambridge Analytica’s use of personal data from 50 million users, some environmental, social and governance…
Time For Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg To Face Facts
Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld explains the failure of corporate governance at Facebook revealed by the Cambridge Analytica breach. We concur, and we call on the board to establish a committee to investigate further and report to Facebook users and investors about the steps they are taking to prevent further breaches. The leadership of Facebook is failing…
Spring Awakening: Notes from This Year’s CII Meeting
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow reports on the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation Blog about CII’s spring meeting. The theme I heard most often at the annual spring meeting of the Council of Institutional Investors was ESG: environmental/social/governance risks and investment opportunities. The issues of how best to understand ESG and factor…
Cybersecurity Today Is Treated Like Accounting Before Enron – The New York Times
We believe every board should have a cybersecurity expert and a specific board committee with oversight. And we recommend that companies report on their process and criteria for cybersecurity each year, with particular emphasis on their ability to respond to attacks promptly and effectively. Companies may wish to allocate reserves for potential breaches as well….
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