Island Banking Services: Cybersecurity Strategy and Implementation Plan

Agenda

The presentation begins with a general summary of the merger & acquisition deal and its background. It dives into the introduction of the cybersecurity strategy’s main standalone points and goals, ranging from prevention and identification to the response to emerging threats. It then proceeds to cover the implementation plan, barriers to success, and general recommendations.

M&A overview

In M&A deals the suggesting company is generally in the position of greater market power and influence. Due to the Island Banking Services’ bankruptcy and criminal history, the M&A with Pagett-Beale Solutions is a second chance for them. Yet the Padgett-Beale Solutions has a power advantage and therefore can influence the strategies of Island Banking Services, especially in the information department.

Failed companies possess the financial potential for M&A deals in cases when their structure or organizational approaches might quickly end up efficiently utilized for profit. This particular deal specifies the inclusion of operating systems, software, and other IT goods in the deal. Therefore it is reasonable to assume, that the merger company is interested in the merged company’s IT resources.

The Chief Information Security Officer, often known as the CISO, is the ultimate guardian of data privacy inside a company. They’re in charge of developing and managing the cyber dangers that come with everyday operations, as well as supporting a secure environment and preserving existing data from data theft. Risk and compliance management, technical operations, and vendor communication are the three major functions of the job.

Padgett-Beale, Inc. is a joint venture company that works in the hotel, restaurant, and resort business. An insider working at the Property Holdings and Development station was responsible for intellectual property theft. He was an integral part of the Future Plans Committee’s team. After this member quit and joined a rival in the Recreational Vehicle Park region, the Property Holdings and Development office head felt something suspicious was going on. After further investigation, he discovered log files on the insider’s corporate laptop. A huge number of large data were taken from the company’s servers and transferred to this insider’s cloud account.

The digital assets and records of Island Banking Services were bought from the bankruptcy courts by Padgett-Beale, Inc. Licenses for office productivity software, financial transaction processing software, database software, and desktop and server operating systems are among these assets. The gear, software, and license necessary to run the company’s internal computer networks are also included in the transaction. Padgett-legal Beale’s counsel was successful in negotiating the return of copies of the business’s documents with the bankruptcy court and the criminal courts, allowing the company to resume operations.

Goals

The goal-setting in the cybersecurity strategical plan lies in the balance between the general requirements of an efficient cybersecurity system and a set of specific characteristics of a particular firm. The characteristics can be categorized into capacity-related and mission-related. (Camillo, 2018) The first group can be addressed by modernization of the equipment, whereas the second concerns the aspects of internal change management and the general purpose of the business in question. Thus most of the goals discussed in this presentation can be adapted accordingly to the needs of the firm.

Cybersecurity strategy 1: overview

At the overview stage of the cybersecurity strategy, it is worth considering the industry differences between the two M&A firms. The company that specializes in hotel and resort management is unlikely to be equipped to deal with the cyber threats of the investment bank on technical and human levels. However, as the number of cyber attacks against hotels has increased in recent years, it is reasonable to assume that the relevant IT department possesses the basics of cyber security knowledge.

Cybersecurity strategy 2 – adopt data principles

Organizations have shown an increased readiness to engage in threat intelligence sharing platforms in recent years. The rising need for companies to protect themselves against today’s sophisticated cyber attacks has led to an open sharing of information and expertise on threats, vulnerabilities, events, and mitigation measures. (Catota, Morgan &Sicker, 2018)

While addressing the threats and protecting the existing data, professionals must ensure the data itself is up to due quality. Poorly sourced data is often used by the ransomware enthusiast to bypass th