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Hackers Anonymous—Risk Mitigation Strategies forHandling Ever-Changing Threats to Data Security 1I. Not If, But When?Former FBI Director Robert Mueller once said, “There are only two types of companies:those that have been hacked and those that will be. And even they are converging intoone category: and that is companies that have been hacked and will be again.” And so,the question has turned into not “if” but “when” a company will face a data breach.From Target and Home Depot to JP Morgan Chase and PF Chang’s, data security is inthe news on a daily basis. And while the constant barrage of stories about databreaches can have a desensitizing effect, a lot of the hype is real. Data breaches andcyber attacks are not just an IT issue, they are everyone’s issue, in all industries. Andthey are here to stay. To avoid the pitfalls of being caught unprepared, companies mustknow what data they have a duty to protect, have defensible data management andsecurity policies, and have a data breach response plan. What if tomorrow you learnthat:• Over the last two months, hackers have stolen contact information for anunknown number of households and small businesses that dealt with yourcompany by using offshore servers to hack your business after they1 Article prepared by Christopher C. Genovese and Rachel M. Flynn of the ALFA Interntaional firm ofNelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP, Columbia, South Carolina.March 6, 2015 2 © 3-6-2015 ALFA International Business Litigation P.G.