Mergers & Acquisitions Put a Bullseye on Companies M&A transactions are a prime target for cybercri me . While executives might think of cyber threats as long-term planned attacks, the truth is hackers become active as soon as a deal is announced, and then start probing for weaknesses. This is because during any complex merger, acquisition, separation or divestiture an immense amount of activity occurs with systems changing, data migrating, and employees/contractors moving between the target companies. This shift in firm governance and risk management is often referred to as “the fog of war” and it is what hackers use to infiltrate. The period from announcement to transaction completion creates heightened risk due to: Increased network activity: Employees from both companies ramp up activity, potentially exposing vulnerabilities. Sophisticated attacks: Hackers use advanced techniques like deepfakes to steal confidential informati...