We rely on information systems across our operations and corporate functions, including finance and accounting, and depend on such systems to ensure payment of obligations, collection of cash, data warehousing to support analytics, and other various processes and procedures. Our ability to manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. The failure of these systems to operate effectively, maintenance problems, failures or delays in upgrading or transitioning to new platforms, or a breach in security of these systems or data (such as in the event of cyber-attacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and administrative or technical failures and other similar activities that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our information technology systems, including those of the third parties with whom we work, or data) has in the past, and may again in the future, result in the theft of intellectual property, personal information or personal property, damage to our reputation and third-party claims, as well as reduced efficiency in our operations and in the accuracy of our internal and external financial reporting. For example, during the second quarter of 2024, the Company was the victim of a criminal scheme involving a business email compromise of an employee that led to two fraudulent transfers to a third party impersonating one of our development partners. A failure or weakness in our information systems (or those of the third parties with whom we work) has in the past and could again in the future materially and adversely affect us, and the remediation of any such problems could result in significant unplanned expenditures.
Our reliance on third parties could introduce new cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities and other threats to our business operations. We engage a variety of third parties to process and store data, some of which may be private or include personal information. We also depend on third parties to host certain of our systems and infrastructure. Our ability to monitor these third parties' information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If the third parties with whom we work experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences, including harm to our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including, but not limited to, social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which are increasingly more difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks (such as credential stuffing), credential stuffing attacks, credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, telecommunications failures, earthquakes, fires, floods, and other similar threats. In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in our operations, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments.
It may be difficult or costly to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident. Our efforts to do so may not be successful. Actions taken by us or the third parties with whom we work to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident could result in outages, data losses, and disruptions of our business. Threat actors have in the past and may in the future gain access to other networks and systems after a compromise of our networks and systems. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We take steps designed to detect, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities in our information systems (such as in our hardware and software, including that of third parties with whom we work). We have not and may not in the future, however, detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities, including on a timely basis. Further, we have (and may in the future) experienced delays in developing and deploying remedial measures and patches designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities could be exploited and result in a security incident.
Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us, or we may voluntarily choose, to notify relevant stakeholders (including affected individuals, customers, regulators, and investors) of security incidents, or to take other actions. Such disclosures and actions are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences. If we (or a third party with whom we work) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience adverse consequences. These consequences may include: government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive data (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Security incidents and attendant consequences may prevent or cause customers to stop using our services, deter new customers from using our services, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business.