Speaking of Cybersecurity

Governments at all levels are poised to tighten rules on disclosures of cybersecurity incidents and have penalized some companies for unacceptable data protection.  

Proposed SEC rules could be finalized in Q1, which would require companies to publicly reveal when they are victimized by cyberattacks. Rulemaking is also proceeding for the critical infrastructure protection law that would require companies to report cyber incidents and ransom payments to the federal government.

Although some public disclosure protections may be included, these changes would upend the status quo, in which companies have some discretion about whether to report incidents to the FBI and other federal agencies – and whether they become public.

New York’s Department of Financial Services is also weighing new reporting requirements for companies designated as “Class A.” The new steps further complicate companies’ communications options by adding to the rising tide of current required disclosure regimes like the Health and Human Services database of health-related breaches and several state attorneys general who list incidents on their websites.

Collectively, these measures will dramatically reshape the way companies communicate following an incident, as the “say-nothing” approach becomes more obsolete. To prepare, smart companies should:

• Prepare specialty cyber incident communications plans

• Integrate those into broader crisis response and continuity of operations training, and

• Command the narrative on their own terms before hackers or required government disclosures spark damaging media coverage and reputational exposure.

Collaboration is key. That was one of the main takeaways of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

Here were some of the event’s other core themes:

• A New System for Dialogue and Cooperation in a Multipolar World: Last week’s discussions more than once promoted a stakeholder-oriented approach where collaboration plays a central role in coping with a multitude of significant crises. Companies are now recognizing that they can no longer prioritize profits over all other considerations.

• A New System for Energy, Climate and Nature: Sustainability, energy resilience and achieving net-zero targets took center stage, with panel sessions covering topics like green investment, climate reporting and accounting, greenwashing and new climate projects. The need for a collective and collaborative approach—with strong emphasis on public-private partnerships and involving those most affected by climate change and migration—were underscored. But data reliability and mounting regulatory pressures around ESG remain headwinds.

• A New System for Investment, Trade and Infrastructure: The global economy is in turmoil, with many experts, including Christine Lagarde, seeing no short-term end to the current inflationary environment and continued restrictive measures. With geopolitical tensions back at an all-time high and President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act a potential pathway to protectionism, “opening up to the world is a must, not an expediency”, said Liu He, Vice Premier of China.

• A New System for Harnessing Frontier Technologies for Private Sector Innovation and Resilience: Discussions centered on how AI and machine learning, especially ChatGPT, can drive productivity gains; the importance of preparing companies against cyberattacks; what role cleantech (with a surprising focus on green hydrogen) and fertilizers play in fueling the transformation and how data processing and blockchain can aid companies in assessing, analyzing, and improving their environmental impact.

Despite ongoing criticism, the WEF is expected to again serve as the major corporate and political gathering in 2024.

It’s time again: The Tiger is passing the baton to the Rabbit, a perfect time to send holiday wishes to your Chinese business partners and friends. In Chinese culture, the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, prosperity and hope. All over China, people will take a break to celebrate. 

Our Shanghai office shares some tips on what to know and how to share holiday wishes with your Chinese business partners, clients, colleagues and friends:

• As many as 400 million Chinese are expected to travel to their hometowns in the first year travel is possible since 2020. This year is expected to see more than 2 billion passenger trips, up 99.5% from 2022 levels.

• But China is not the only country celebrating: One in four people on this planet celebrate the Lunar or Chinese New Year. Countries taking public holidays also are Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, North Korea, Singapore and Brunei.

• The holiday in China only lasts 3 days. But the Chinese government extends the holiday to seven days to encourage the tourism industry, then mandates make-up working days on weekends afterwards.

• If like your CIC editors you were born in 1951, 1963, 1975 (Nedra), 1987 (Irene), 1999 or 2011, you might share characteristics with Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, Angelina Jolie, Anita Mui and David Beckham. You are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded, and ingenious. (We’re blushing.)

• If you want to wish anyone in China a happy new year in Chinese, you can say “Xin Nian Kuai Le” or write “祝您新年快乐，万事如意” in simplified Chinese (Mainland) or “祝您新年快樂，萬事如意” in traditional Chinese (Hong Kong and Taiwan). One joke is that “rabbit” in Chinese 兔, pronounced “Tu” is used to replace “to” in English: “Happy New Year TO(兔; rabbit) you!”

The Year of Rabbit ends on Feb 9, 2024, when we will call for “crouching bunny, hidden dragon”. Want to know what’s ahead in the Year of the Rabbit? Click here.

In that spirit we wish you all a very happy, healthy and hopeful Year of the Rabbit.