Prakash Mehta Quoted in Private Equity Analyst on Cyber Risks for PE Firms
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Prakash Mehta, co-head of the investment management practice at Akin Gump, was quoted in the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst article “Midmarket Firms Wake Up to Cybersecurity Risk.”
The article notes that many small and midmarket private equity firms are just beginning to educate themselves about the risk of cybersecurity breaches and the potential impact on their portfolio companies. According to the article, however, these same companies can be the most vulnerable to hackers and other outside attacks on their information systems.
Regarding who is responsible for setting up appropriate protections, Mehta said, “It’s easy to say responsibility goes to whoever is in charge of IT. That’s a trap, because it may foreclose the process of analyzing where all of your information lies.” Often, he added, “It may help to think of your information flow as a river that has many, many tributaries,” for it can require more than just one or two information technology professionals.
