Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
We are supplementing Item 1A. Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 23, 2021 (the “Annual Report”). The following risk factors should be read in conjunction with the risk factors set forth in that Annual Report.
Operational Risks
The Security Incident could have numerous adverse effects on our business.
As previously disclosed, on July 16, 2020, we contacted certain customers to inform them about the Security Incident, including that in May 2020 we discovered and stopped a ransomware attack. Prior to our successfully preventing the cybercriminal from blocking our system access and fully encrypting files, and ultimately expelling them from our system with no significant disruption to our operations, the cybercriminal removed a copy of a subset of data from our self-hosted environment. Although the nature of the incident, our research and third party (including law enforcement) investigation have provided no reason to believe that any data went beyond the cybercriminal, was or will be misused, or will be disseminated or otherwise made available publicly, our investigation into the Security Incident remains ongoing and may provide additional information.
To date, we have received approximately 260 specific requests for reimbursement of expenses ("Customer Reimbursement Requests") and approximately 400 reservations of the right to seek expense recovery in the future from customers or their attorneys in the U.S., U.K. and Canada related to the Security Incident (none of which have as yet been filed in court) and are in the process of assessing what liability may exist pursuant to such claims. Of the Customer Reimbursement Requests received to date, approximately 160 have been fully resolved and closed. Customer claims generally seek reimbursement of their costs and expenses associated with notifying their own customers of the Security Incident and taking steps to assure that personal information has not been compromised as a result of the Security Incident. In addition, presently, we are a defendant in 29 putative consumer class action cases [ 27 in U.S. federal courts (some of which have been consolidated under multi district litigation to a single federal court) and 2 in Canadian courts] alleging harm from the Security Incident. The plaintiffs in these cases, who generally purport to represent various classes of individual constituents of our customers, generally claim to have been harmed by alleged actions and/or omissions by us in connection with the Security Incident and assert a variety of common law and statutory claims seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees, and other related relief. To date, we also have received a consolidated, multi-state Civil Investigative Demand issued on behalf of 47 state Attorneys General and the District of Columbia and separate Civil Investigative Demands from the offices of the Illinois Attorney General and the California Attorney General relating to the Security Incident. In addition, we have received communications, inquires and requests from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom (the “ICO”) under the U.K. Data Protection Act 2018, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Spanish Data Protection Agency. (See Note 9 to our unaudited, condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report for a more detailed description of the Security Incident and related matters.)
We may be named as a party in additional lawsuits, other claims may be asserted by or on behalf of our customers or their constituents, and we may be subject to additional governmental inquires, requests or investigations. Responding to and resolving these current and any future lawsuits, claims and/or investigations could result in material remedial and other expenses that may not be covered by insurance. Governmental authorities also may seek to impose undertakings, injunctive relief, consent decrees, or other civil or criminal penalties, which could, among other things, materially increase our data security costs or otherwise require us to alter how we operate our business. Although we intend to
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Second Quarter 2021 Form 10-Q
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Blackbaud, Inc.
defend ourselves vigorously against the claims asserted against us, we cannot predict the potential outcomes, cost and expenses associated with current and any future claims, lawsuits, inquiries and investigations.
Significant management time and Company resources have been, and are expected to continue to be, devoted to the Security Incident. In the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, we recorded $ 11.7 million and $ 24.4 million, respectively, of expenses related to the Security Incident and offsetting probable insurance recoveries of $ 11.2 million and $ 23.9 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2021, we have recorded cumulative expenses related to the Security Incident of $ 34.2 million and cumulative probable insurance recoveries of $ 33.3 million. Although we carry insurance designed to protect us against certain losses related to cybersecurity events, we believe it is probable that insurance coverage will not be sufficient to cover all expenses or other losses (including fines) or all types of claims that may arise in connection with cyberattacks, security compromises and other related incidents. Furthermore, in the future such insurance may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. (See Note 9 to our unaudited, condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report.)
Future publicity or developments related to the Security Incident could have a range of other adverse effects on our business or prospects, including causing or contributing to loss of customer confidence, reduced customer demand, reduced customer retention, strategic growth opportunities, and associated retention and recruiting difficulties.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.