Full Disclosure

The age of sweeping ransomware attacks and other cyber incidents under the rug is over. That’s the message FGS’ Scott Lindlaw will carry Thursday to Incident Response Forum Masterclass 2024, an annual conference bringing together top law firms and in-house cyber practitioners, companies and senior cybersecurity officials from the U.S. government.

Reputation has never been more at risk in cyber attacks. Companies, universities, hospitals, municipalities – everyone who collects data faces growing pressure from all directions:

• An unrelenting surge of cyber-attacks, which AI is supercharging.

• Tightening state and federal disclosure rules forcing public announcements of certain incidents earlier and earlier. 

• Increasingly aggressive and sophisticated cybercriminals ready and willing to go public about their exploits if it gives them a tactical advantage. The hackers do PR!

• Most significantly, new SEC rules that took effect in December that require public companies to disclose material impact from cyber events and developments within four business days.

In this environment, trying to control the narrative necessitates synchronized, strategic and consistent communications to customers, investors, employees and other key stakeholders.

Companies should bring internal and external crisis communications experts to the table from the earliest moments of a suspected incident – and ideally should have a plan well before.

FGS can provide clients and potential clients complimentary invitations to the event.

The effort to pass a national privacy law in the U.S., which many policymakers have said is needed with the growth of AI, took a big step forward last week. 

Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released draft text of their new comprehensive data privacy legislation, the American Privacy Rights Act. 

Included in the bill are provisions regulating certain use cases of AI, including allowing users to opt out of automated decisions and placing limits on how companies can use AI in algorithmic decisions related to housing, employment, and health care among other sensitive categories. 

Key members have been vocal about the need to address privacy concerns before comprehensively tackling AI, meaning broader conversations about AI legislation could now take a backseat.

Meanwhile, Congress has continued to debate where and how to draw the line on IP protections for AI created material and how to protect content creators from copyright infringements and having their works used to train AI models. 

During the House Judiciary Committee’s recent hearing on artificial intelligence and intellectual property, members debated balancing the need to protect creators while ensuring a competitive and innovative business environment. Witnesses warned Congress against legislating ahead of courts interpreting the relation of AI to existing IP and copyright law and any rulemaking from expert regulatory agencies.

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As a result of President Biden's restrictions on U.S. investments in China's advanced technology sectors, a steady shift of global capital from China to Japan is underway. 

FGS Global’s Grace Shao in Hong Kong writes for The Diplomat on what China’s economic rough patch means for Japan’s revitalization. 

China’s tech giants have been especially impacted by U.S. sanctions, as well as domestic Chinese regulations, leading to a loss of confidence among global investors and the closure of many China-focused hedge funds. By contrast, Japan’s mature capital market has become increasingly attractive to foreign investors. 

We have seen a doubling of Japan-focused funds, with the Tokyo Stock Exchange implementing reforms to improve capital management. This has led to a robust projection for the Japanese equity market, with the Tokyo Price Index forecasts rising and a significant increase in M&A activity.

International media have framed Japan's economic revitalization in stark contrast to China's current economic downturn. This has been accompanied by a scramble among business-focused outlets and investors to better understand what is happening on the ground in Japan, with daily think pieces opining on the reasons behind the country’s phoenix-like recovery. 

Communications experts must also quickly get up to speed on this unique market and its equally unique communications environment to ensure they understand these corporate governance changes and convey the ‘Japan story’ to a global audience.