After Capital One’s breach here’s a cyber risk checklist

Cyber breaches: what to do and who to call for help.

On July 30, a hacker gained access to more than 100 million Capital One customers’ accounts and credit card applications. The suspect, a software engineer, is accused of stealing 140,000 US social security numbers, 80,000 bank account numbers, and 1 million social insurance numbers (the Canadian equivalent of social security numbers). Here are seven steps private equity firms should take to mitigate cyber risk courtesy of Riverside’s highly regarded tech chief, Eric Feldman.

Need help? We have put together a list of cyber security consultants to get you started. Think your firm should be on there? Let us know.

A parting thought from Clifford Chance partners Megan Gordon and Steve Gatti: “For a data breach of the PE shop, the ‘crown jewels’ will not be the personal information that they collect but instead information on active deals and other IP.”

Email prepared by Toby Mitchenall and Brian Bonilla