Our business depends heavily on information technology and computerized systems to communicate and operate effectively. We store sensitive data including proprietary business information, intellectual property and confidential employee or other personal data on our servers and databases. Our systems and technologies, or those of third parties on which we rely, could fail or become unreliable due to equipment failures, software viruses, cyber threats or cyber incidents, ransomware attacks, employee error or malfeasance, terrorist acts, natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, political or social unrest, pandemics or other public health issues, or other causes. These threats arise in some cases as a result of our role as a defense contractor. Our customers, including the U.S. Government, are increasingly requiring cybersecurity protections and mandating cybersecurity standards in our products, and we may incur additional cost to comply with such demands.
We have faced and expect to continue to face cyber security threats. Such threats are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to our sensitive information (including that of our customers, suppliers, subcontractors and joint venture partners), business e-mail compromises, ransomware attacks, and other electronic security incidents, including at our customers, suppliers, subcontractors, and joint venture partners, that could lead to disruptions in mission critical systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information, and corruption of data. We have employees working remotely at times, which heightens the risk of these potential vulnerabilities.
We also rely on third parties to host certain enterprise systems and that manage and host our data and that of our customers. Our ability to monitor such third parties' security measures and the full impact of the systemic risk is limited. If our systems, data, or any third-party service that we use is unavailable to us for any reason, our customers may experience service interruptions, which could significantly impact our operations, reputation, business, and financial results. Lack of access to our data and that of our clients, or failure of our systems or those of our third-party service providers, may result in interruptions in our service, all of which may cause a loss in customers, refunds of product fees, and/or material harm to our reputation and operating results.
A theft, loss, fraudulent use or misuse of customer, stockholder, employee or our proprietary data by cybercrime or otherwise, noncompliance with our contractual or other legal obligations regarding such data or a violation of our privacy and security policies with respect to such data could adversely impact our reputation and could result in costs, fines, litigation or regulatory action against us. Security incidents that may lead to breaches can create system disruptions and shutdowns that could result in disruptions to our operations. We cannot be certain that advances in criminal capabilities, new vulnerabilities or other developments will not compromise or breach the security solutions protecting our information technology, networks and systems. A systems or network failure or cyber-attack on our information systems technology or those of our partners, customers, vendors, or suppliers could adversely affect our ability to process orders, maintain proper levels of inventory, collect accounts receivable and pay expenses; all of which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Such serious harm can involve, among other things, misuse of our assets, business disruptions, loss of data, unauthorized access to trade secrets and confidential business information, unauthorized access to personal information, damage to customer relationships, legal claims or proceedings, reporting errors, processing inefficiencies, negative media attention, reputational harm, loss of sales, remediation and increased insurance costs, and interference with regulatory compliance. We expect to continue to experience some of these types of cybersecurity threats and incidents, which could be material in the future.
We maintain a cybersecurity risk management program to monitor and mitigate cybersecurity threats and an incident response plan for realized threats. Costs associated with preventing or remediating information management security incidents or complying with related laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position. Additionally, we have obtained insurance that provides coverage for certain cybersecurity incidents. Despite these efforts, we can make no assurances that we will be able to mitigate, detect, prevent, timely and adequately respond, or fully recover from the negative effects of cybersecurity incidents or other cybersecurity compromises, and such cybersecurity incidents, depending on their nature and scope, could potentially result in the misappropriation, destruction, corruption, or unavailability of personal information, critical data and confidential or proprietary information (our own or that of third parties) and the disruption of business operations. The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include financial loss, reputational damage, damage to our IT systems, data loss, litigation with third parties, theft of intellectual property, fines, customer attrition, diminution in the value of our investment in research and development, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs due to the increasing sophistication and proliferation of threats, which in turn could adversely affect our competitiveness and results of operations. Any imposition of liability, particularly liability that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of insurance coverage, could materially harm our operating results and financial condition.