http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2014/07/11/survey-roundup-cybersecurity-complacency-threatens-ma-deals/ By BEN DIPIETRO Wall Street Journal July 11, 2014 Taking Risks for Granted: A global survey of 214 senior dealmakers by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer found a worrying level of complacency toward the assessment of cyber risks during M&A deals. The survey found 90% of respondents said cyber breaches would result in a reduction in deal value, but 78% say cybersecurity isn’t a risk that is currently analyzed in-depth or dealt with in deal due diligence. On the bright side, awareness of the threat posed by cyberattacks is growing, with 82% saying the risk of cyberattacks will change deal processes over the next 18 months. “It’s surprising that dealmakers recognize the growing threat of cyberattacks to businesses, but generally aren’t addressing that risk during deals,” said Chris Forsyth, co-head of the firm’s international cybersecurity team. “You wouldn’t dream of buying a chemicals plant without assessing environmental risk, so why would you buy a data-driven business without assessing the risks it faces around data management and cybersecurity?” No Policy Required: Seven in 10 small-business owners and 30% of C-suite executives say their companies don’t have a cybersecurity policy, according to the Security Tracker survey from information security firm Shred-it. The survey found 38% of C-suite execs say they have an employee directly responsible for managing data security issues at the management level. Sharing is Not Caring: A survey from software security company IS Decisions of 1,000 U.S. and 1,000 U.K. desk-based workers found 23% of respondents said they have shared their password with one or more of their colleagues, and 22% saying they share their work logins more frequently now than they did two years ago. […]