AQUABOUNTY TECHNOLOGIES INC - (AQB)
10-K Filing Date: April 01, 2024
We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our critical systems and information.
We design and assess our program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (“NIST CSF”). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, only that we use the NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.
Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program, and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.
Our cybersecurity risk management program includes, but is not limited to, the following key elements:
risk assessments designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems and information;
a security team principally responsible for managing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security controls, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;
the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security processes;
cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, incident response personnel, and senior management; and
a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents.
We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. We face risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. There were no material cybersecurity breaches during 2023. See “Risk Factors – Security breaches, cyber-attacks and other disruptions could compromise our information, expose us to fraud or liability, or interrupt our operations, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.”
Cybersecurity Governance
Our Board of Directors considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function and oversees management’s implementation of our cybersecurity risk management program. The Board of Directors receives periodic reports from management on our cybersecurity risks and management updates the Board of Directors, as necessary, regarding any material cybersecurity incidents, as well as any incidents with lesser impact potential. The Board of Directors also receives briefings from management on our cybersecurity risk management program and presentations on cybersecurity topics from external experts as part of the Board of Directors’ continuing education on topics that impact public companies.
Our management team, including our Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. The team has primary responsibility for our overall cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both our external cybersecurity personnel and our retained external cybersecurity consultants. Our Chief Financial Officer has been managing our information technology resources for over 16 years and has overseen our cybersecurity risk assessment and the implementation of our cybersecurity risk management program since its inception.
Our management team stays informed about and monitors efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from external security personnel, threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us, and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in the information technology environment.