Posts By: Debbie Stephenson
Spear Phishing: Who’s Getting Caught?
Online security threats are something we’ve all heard about, but do you know how big the threat really is?
The stereotypical view of somebody sitting alone in their basement hacking into your Facebook account is now outdated. Hackers are becoming much more sophisticated.
Professional groups of highly skilled hackers, sometimes government backed and politically motivated, are targeting an ever increasing number of corporations. These attacks are not random, but rather targeted and persistent. A 2012 whitepaper by security software provider, Symantec, suggests that “Victims are attacked, not for petty crime or theft, but for the wholesale gathering of intelligence and intellectual property.”
Read MoreBeyond M&A: Alternative Uses For Your Virtual Data Room
Most of us, at one time or another, have made a mistake when it comes to sending an email.
Perhaps you've made an error but pressed send too quickly, attached the wrong document, or emailed the wrong person entirely! The situation is usually more of an embarrassment than anything else, but the repercussions are more serious when confidential information is involved.
Read MoreTop 10 M&A Quotes
“Dealmaking [is] a profession unto itself – the world’s highest paying profession. Things don’t just fall into place by accident. A good dealmaker understands that it’s his job to finesse things into place.” – Anonymous
If you look at the great dealmakers of our era – Donald Trump, Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban, to name just a few - the one thing that separates them from the pack is their innate ability to identify and close lucrative deals.
Read More7 Advantages of Reverse or Vendor Due Diligence for Investment Bankers
When a business owner decides to sell their business, the need to objectively assess the current condition of the company can often be overlooked. In failing to do this, the seller weakens their power of negotiation with potential acquirers. The best way to address this is through reverse or vendor due diligence.
Read MoreSeven Tips For Better Law Firm Security
We often highlight articles that would be interesting and relevant to the Firmex community. We thought you might find the following article by Peter Coons from The Daily Record insightful. The article highlights the regulatory and ethical obligations of lawyers to protect their clients' information and provides 7 practical tips for enhancing your firms security.
Read MoreRenewable Energy Sector Gets Boost from MLP Parity Act
In an effort to capture the economic benefit of the growing renewable energy sector, lawmakers have proposed new legislation that would allow clean energy producers to form Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). MLPs are set up to allow companies to raise funds in the same way as a corporation does, and to pay taxes as a partnership. The MLP structure allows the business’s owners to pay tax on their individual tax returns, while providing the flexibility and opportunity to raise capital from smaller investors directly from the stock market.
Read MoreLaw Firms a Primary Target For Hackers
Despite enormous and increasing resources devoted to protecting confidential information, security breaches continue to plague the legal industry. Hackers are deploying some of the most sophisticated attacks ever seen, and law firms are a primary target. Law firms are storehouses of valuable information, of interest to everyone from organized crime to spouses in marital disputes.
Read MoreTop 10 Security Breaches
As corporations become more reliant on modern technology, they also become more vulnerable to online attacks. Corporate cyber crimes are on the rise, and can cause serious harm to an organization’s bottom line. In 2010, the Ponemon Institute estimated that the average cost to companies affected by cybercrimes was $3.8 million per year. That rose by a staggering 56% in 2011, to $5.9 million per year!
Corporate online attacks are not only costly, but are also becoming more frequent. “We have seen a 40 per cent rise in the theft of intellectual property since the 2008 recession,” said Daniel Tobok, President of Digital Wyzdom Inc, a security consulting firm based in Toronto. What’s even more alarming is that corporate cybercrimes could be playing a dangerous role in international cyber warfare.
Read MoreCan Lackluster Q1 Results Be a Good Sign for Post-Closing M&A Success?
Despite five deals announced in February worth $91 billion, Q1 2013 was not a booming quarter for M&A activity. Though deal value was around 10 percent higher than Q1 2012, it was still 26 percent lower than Q1 2011. Deal volume was also down, with a mere 8,115 deals announced worldwide - the lowest since 2003.
Read MoreGlobal Mining Deals – Top 2012 Deals and 2013 Deal Outlook
We often highlight articles that would be interesting and relevant to the Firmex community. We thought you might find the following PwC research report insightful, analysing the top mining deals of 2012 and the deal outlook for 2013.
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