Another year and another hack and what seems like a very long wait to learn that it happened. Recently, Marriott waited 11 weeks to reveal that 383 million customer records had been compromised, exposing at least 25 million passport numbers and 8 million payment cards. Can you imagine a company like Marriott waiting for 11 weeks to disclose its quarterly earnings numbers? That wouldn’t be acceptable; why is waiting that long to disclose this type of incident?
The Marriott Breach Shows Just How Inadequate Cyber Risk Disclosures Are
Better regulation is needed.
March 05, 2019
Summary.
Marriott waited 11 weeks to reveal that 383 million customer record had been compromised, exposing at least 25 million passport numbers and 8 million payment cards. Can you imagine Marriott waiting for 11 weeks to disclose its quarterly earnings numbers? That wouldn’t be acceptable; why is waiting that long to disclose this incident? The Marriott breach offers four key lessons for senior managers and regulators: (i) cyber risk disclosure continues to be inadequate; (ii) special events such as mergers and associated cost cutting can trigger cyber breaches; (iii) systemic cyber risk in the system is building; and (iv) boards continue to be unprepared or unqualified to deal with cyber risk.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Digital Intelligence . Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Excel in a world that's being continually transformed by technology.